


Smoke and Fire

by LoneWolfWriter



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: Bisexual Waverly Earp, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Smut, F/F, Firefighter!Haught, Fluff, G!P Nicole Haught, Intersex Nicole Haught, Light Angst, Maybe - Freeform, Mutual Pining, Nicole Haught Has a Penis, Not really a slow burn, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rating will change, Sexual Tension, So much tension you can cut it with a knife and eat it as cake, Waverly is thirsty and needs a tall glass of water, Writer Waverly Earp
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-31
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:21:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 23,028
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26204086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LoneWolfWriter/pseuds/LoneWolfWriter
Summary: The smoke clouding Waverly’s muse was thick, to a point she could hardly see.When an intriguing red headed firefighter puts out the flame, Waverly’s almost certain a different type of fire is ignited within her.The type of fire that she doesn’t want put out.Or the G!P firefighter Haught and writer Waverly Earp fic no one asked for but wrote anyway.
Relationships: Minor or Background Relationship(s), Rosita Bustillos/Wynonna Earp, Waverly Earp & Nicole Haught, Waverly Earp/Nicole Haught
Comments: 211
Kudos: 770





	1. One

**Author's Note:**

> Don't ask me why I'm posting this when I have so many other unfinished fic's out there. I just like torturing myself and my readers apparently. ANYWAY! I saw this Firefighter!Haught drawing on twitter by @RHappy256 and I fell in love with it. The rainbow suspenders is what caused this fic to happen. So thank them for this! 
> 
> To all my fellow writers out there, I see you! You'll understand why when you start reading. Lol
> 
> Here's to our last Earp episode until 2021! See you guys on the other side.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I’ve uh, been meaning to introduce myself.” Waverly shook her head and refocused back on the woman in front of her. The redhead took off one of her gloves and offered it to Waverly. “I’m Nicole. Nicole Haught.” The woman, _Nicole_ , smiled with her dimples on full display. 
> 
> Waverly grabbed her hand and instantly felt something she never had before. “And you are,” Nicole continued. “Waverly Earp. Quite the popular girl around here.” 
> 
> “It’s all in the smile and wave.” Waverly demonstrated. 
> 
> “It’s quite the smile.” Nicole flirted; her eyes glancing down at Waverly’s lips before making eye contact again.

“Argh!” The sound of paper ripping and being crumpled up filled Waverly’s ears. She threw the offending crumpled sheet to the floor; the paper greeting its old mates in a huddled mess. 

Plotting out a story was all Waverly wanted to do. Hell, typing words on a google document would have been nice, yet words were nowhere to be seen. The blank, bright white word document mocked Waverly every minute that passed without a single thing typed. Her small 9x6 spiral notebook she carried around that held all her plotting was withering away with each page torn out of it. 

All Waverly wanted was a simple idea. A prompt. Something that would help her nonexistent story blossom into a beautiful rose. Waverly just wanted something that would spark her muse and get her out of the drought she was in. Nothing seemed to work. 

Maybe her sister was right. Maybe she had worked herself dry. If Waverly told Wynonna that, her sister would surely come up with a sexual joke or two to tease her with. That simple thought brought a shiver down Waverly’s spine.

It had been almost seven months since Waverly last wrote anything substantial. She tried dipping her toe into the fanfic world in hopes of digging back up her muse from the massive hole in ground but it was no use. Neither were television shows, movies, and novels. Nothing got Waverly out of her slump. 

Another crumpled sheet of paper fell to the floor. Glass shattering came from below and versus being a distraction, Waverly welcomed it with open arms. She sighed and got out of her chair. Closing her laptop screen down as she got up. The fresh page from her notepad mocked her in its wake, and it took every ounce of Waverly to not throw in her wastebasket. 

Loud voices filled Waverly’s ears when she opened her apartment door. Living above Shorty’s bar had its perks, but none of those were total silence. Another long sigh escaped her lips when Waverly thought back to the last time she actually had complete and total silence. She was living with her aunt and uncle that lived just far enough away from town that woodland creatures ventured out into their yard daily. Waverly wrote more then, too. Silence seemed to be a key factor in her lack of progression on her newest works. The only time Shorty’s was quiet was during the early hours of the day. The same hours Waverly needed to sleep so she could work the night shift. 

Waverly grabbed the broom at the bottom of the stairs and walked over to her aunt. “Let me help you with that, Gus.”

“Nonsense. It’s your day off. You should be out with your friends, not picking up glass… or be writing that book I keep wanting to get my hands on.” Gus gave her niece a knowing smile.

A slight blush dusted Waverly’s cheeks. “Uh, about that book.” Waverly started fiddling with the bottom of her purple tank top; a nervous habit she picked up. 

Just as Waverly was about to tell Gus the truth, someone slammed their hand on the countertop, causing Waverly and Gus to jump a little. “Champ, you fool! You keep hitting my bar like that, I’ll quit serving you.” Gus hissed. The older woman stood up with the dustpan and went behind the counter, throwing away the broken glass in the small trash bin they kept underneath. 

“Another beer, Gus!” Champ slurred a little. His eyes moved from his empty cup to the girl standing behind the older bartender. “Babe! Say you come over here and sit in my lap. We can talk about the first thing that pops up.” He winked.

“Ew.” Waverly gagged. “No, Champ! Never again.” 

“Come on, babe. You know you want to ride this again.” 

Waverly tried not to empty the contents of her stomach all over Gus. “I really don’t, Champ. I was drunk that night and told you the following morning it would never happen again. I still mean it.” 

“Leave my niece alone, James, or else you’ll be hauled off by Sheriff Nedley.” 

“That old geezer doesn’t scare me.” 

“Oh, yeah.” Waverly smirked at her aunt. “Here’s your chance to tell him that.”

All the blood in Champ’s face drained and his skin turned white. He quickly turned towards the door, almost falling off his chair in the process. Waverly, Gus and a few other patrons, who were listening to the conversation, started laughing. “Don’t lose your day job, Champ.” Waverly snickered and walked away from the counter; putting the broom away. 

Gus shook her head at her niece, thankful that her one-night stand with the rodeo was a mistake. She honestly didn’t want to think about Champ dating her youngest niece, knowing he would never be worthy of her. Champ didn’t seem like the faithful kind if seeing him with a different woman every night was anything to go by. Gus wanted her nieces happy. 

“Valdez, man the bar.” Gus yelled over to her newest employee, Rachel. “And if Chump comes back over after lickin’ his wounds, tell him he’s cut off for the night. My orders.” 

“Aye aye, Captain.” Rachel saluted. 

Gus ushered Waverly back up the stairs and into the apartment. The first thing she noticed was the mess on the floor. The notebook on the desk looked like it had seen better days and a lot thinner than the day before. A rush of sadness washed over at the realization. Waverly was struggling to write, and from the looks of it, she still hadn’t come up with a story idea. 

Waverly waited. Telling Gus a little white lie didn’t seem so bad until it finally caught up with her. Gus and Curtis were her biggest supporters, and Waverly felt like she was letting them down every time they asked her about the progress she was making. _It’s getting there_ , Waverly would tell them. Now, Waverly waited for Gus to snap at her. To tell Waverly she was disappointed in her. 

Paper hitting her wastebasket brought Waverly out of her thoughts. She lifted her head to see her aunt picking up the heap of papers and putting them where they actually belonged. It took Waverly a second to realize what was happening before she bolted to the floor beside Gus and helped pick up her trash. 

“What will help you get you out of your funk?”

Waverly stared at her aunt; dumbfounded. “What?” 

“How can I-” 

The desk began vibrating and Wynonna’s ringtone filled the small apartment space. Waverly looked down her watch and saw the time. _10:57_. Wynonna never called her that late at night, especially not during the busiest time of work. Waverly quickly grabbed her phone. “Hey sis- what? I-I’ll be there in fifteen.”

  
  


**∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞**

  
  


Puffs of black smoke littered the night sky. If the moon wasn’t shining so bright Waverly would’ve assumed they were dark rain clouds. She parked her Jeep down the road, far enough away from the taped off area that was lined with fire trucks and police cruisers. Gus and Curtis stood next to her, watching the scene unfold. 

Much to Waverly’s surprise, people crowded the sidewalks, watching with rapid attention to the firefighters hosing down part of the building. Waverly scanned through the people, hoping to find the sole person who she desperately needed to see. Her eyes bounced back when she thought she saw someone with dark hair and leather pants. 

“Wynonna!” 

The woman Waverly hoped was her sister, spun around and Waverly let out a relieved sigh. Wynonna pushed through the crowd and pulled Waverly into a hug, squeezing a little too tight for Waverly’s comfort. 

“I don’t know what happened!” Wynonna answered the unasked question. “One minute everything was fine and the next, we were having a flaming smoke show.” 

Waverly noticed that her sister looked everywhere but at her. Wynonna seemed as if she had gotten caught with her hand in the cookie jar. She looked… guilty. There was no reason for Wynonna to act that way. It wasn’t like she had started the fire. Did she?

“Wynonna, what di-”

“It was an accident!” Wynonna cut her off. 

Right as Waverly was going to ask what she did that caused the fire to start, a firefighter walked up to them, asking which one of them was the owner of the club. 

Wynonna awkwardly raised her hand. “Glory Hole is mine.” She mumbled. 

The fireman took their helmet off and to Waverly’s surprise; it was a woman behind the shield. A beautiful woman, Waverly noted. The hood covering their head came down and vibrant red hair pulled back in a French braid, shone in the moonlight. Her facial features glowed in a way that shouldn’t have been possible, and Waverly was doing everything she could to not outright stare at the stranger. 

“Good news, the fire was contained. Bad news is, you won’t be serving chili anytime soon.” Waverly raised an eyebrow at the redhead, hoping she would further explain. “The fire stayed within the kitchen. Most of the damage is from the smoke, fortunately.”

“How was it started?” Waverly asked. She took a quick glance at Wynonna and noticed that her sister seemed more interested in her boots than the conversation going on around her.

“Empty food boxes too close to the gas stove in there.” The fire-woman said. 

“Ow!” Wynonna yelped; rubbing her arm where Waverly had hit her. “What was that for?”

“Stop trying to cook! Or else Glory Hole will end up being a hole if you keep it up.” 

Wynonna snorted. “A-hole.”

Waverly glared at Wynonna, then turned her head back to the redhead. She felt her cheeks heat up when she noticed the woman smirking at them. “Are the damages repairable?” 

“They’re doable.” There was something in the way the redhead said that that made Waverly blush deeper. The brown eyes that looked smooth as chocolate penetrated through her in a way that she wasn’t used to, but it had her craving for more. 

There was something about the woman that Waverly couldn’t quite put her finger on. Purgatory was small and everybody knew everyone and yet Waverly didn’t have the slightest clue who this beautiful redheaded stranger was. The way she was staring at Waverly should’ve had her turn away in disgust. Instead, Waverly felt herself getting lost within those soft brown eyes and crooked half smirk.

The sound of someone clearing their throat took Waverly out of her trance. Her face and the tip of ears heated up at being caught by her sister. Waverly looked over at her sister and instantly regretted it. Wynonna was making weird hand gestures towards her and the redhead while talking to Gus and Curtis. When did Wynonna leave her side?

“I’ve uh, been meaning to introduce myself.” Waverly shook her head and refocused back on the woman in front of her. The redhead took off one of her gloves and offered it to Waverly. “I’m Nicole. Nicole Haught.” The woman, _Nicole_ , smiled with her dimples on full display. 

Waverly grabbed her hand and instantly felt something she never had before. “And you are,” Nicole continued. “Waverly Earp. Quite the popular girl around here.” 

“It’s all in the smile and wave.” Waverly demonstrated. 

“It’s quite the smile.” Nicole flirted; her eyes glancing down at Waverly’s lips before making eye contact again. Wynonna cleared her throat again before Gus started asking questions about just how bad the club was.

The amount of times Waverly had blushed that night, she lost count, and it was mostly from talking to Nicole. She bit her lip, desperately trying to rid the thoughts going off in her head. Waverly looked over at the club and watched the other fireman clearing up the area. Most of the people had already left or were waiting to be allowed back in the club to grab whatever items they left behind. When she heard her name, Waverly tuned back into the conversation. Her eyes fell back on Nicole and Waverly couldn’t stop herself from smiling.

_Nicole_. She had heard that name all throughout school. Even had to tutor a freshman girl named Nicole during her senior year of high school. Not once had the name cause her body to react like that. To send a shock of electricity through Waverly’s veins or rolling off her tongue like it was a foreign language. Waverly knew and loved foreign languages, and yet hearing the name Nicole from her own lips made her realize that maybe she was missing out on something extraordinary. 

Waverly stood, gawking at this gorgeous redhead in a fireman’s uniform, listening to her talk to Wynonna about the damages to the club. It took a moment for Waverly to realize what was happening. For the first time in months, her muse was screaming at her to sit her ass down and write. 

About what? Waverly wasn’t 100% sure what her muse had in store for her, but she had a funny feeling the redhead had something to do with it. 

  
  



	2. Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Veggies burger and fries.” She placed the plate down and was immediately in shock when she noticed who she was serving. “Fireman-woman Haught. Surprised to see you here.” 
> 
> “Well, when I see something I like, I don’t want to wait,” Nicole’s eyes drifted down to her midsection, where a sliver of Waverly’s abs was on display. “… and it’s my day off.” Nicole quickly added; her face turning red. “Thought I would get better familiarized with Purgatory.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I um... added some tags. Tags that I never thought I add to any of my stories but I thought, why not. Hence the rating change... that will probably change again later on. I don't know. 
> 
> I hope I don't offend anyone by giving Nicole a dick, but at the same time, if you are uncomfortable by these tags, then turn back now. On the other hand, if you have polite constructive criticism, then by all means, comment them below or HMU on Twitter or Tumblr.

Waverly sat at her desk, typing away on her laptop. The noise from downstairs surprisingly didn’t bother her. Whatever spark Waverly felt at Glory Hole while talking to Nicole ignited something within her. She hadn’t felt anything like it before, and it scared her a little. What surprised her even more was the fact that she was jotting down notes on her computer like her life depended on it. 

All Waverly could think about was flames. How they moved with the wind and how easily it could spread.  _ What an odd thought to have _ , Waverly mused. Then again, she was a writer. Waverly could plot out someone’s death faster than a murderer could.  _ The devil lies within the details _ . She heard the quote once and knew it was meant for two types of people. Those with secrets who wanted them hidden and writers plotting out novels. 

She looked up at her wall and smiled at the quote. When Waverly told Curtis about the saying and how much she loved it, her uncle turned it into a wall sticker so she could put it above her desk. Allowing her to always seek solstice in the quote whenever she doubted herself. It seemed like Waverly had looked up at her wall a million times throughout her writer’s block; praying she’d get some kind of guidance. Unfortunately, that guidance she sought, never got answered until now; After she melted into a puddle from a pair of the most beautiful brown eyes Waverly had ever seen. 

The time on the computer turned 10:30. Waverly saved her notes, backing them up a thumb-drive, and closed her laptop. Thirty minutes until her shift started. Gus had told her not to worry about working and to focus on her writing, but when there was no cash flowing into her back account, working the bar was essential. Money wasn’t magically appearing in her account, no matter how hard Gus or Curtis tried to make it appear like that. Waverly wasn’t about to freeload off her aunt and uncle. Working also allowed her mind to focus on other things and not overthink a scene she was trying to write. 

Though Shorty’s wasn’t open for another five minutes, there were a few people sitting in some booths. Those were the usual ‘patrons’ that preferred studying in a more open area that played music in the background. Waverly knew the people studying were only there to use the free wi-fi that she set up; mostly for herself. A few people in the booths were college students and one or two high schoolers with senior privileges. 

By one o’clock, Shortys was booming with its normal lunch rush. Less booze, more food, Curtis would joke and true to his word, customers hardly ordered alcohol during the rush. Minus the few alcoholics that had to have their choice of poison. 

A ting sounded off behind Waverly. “Sweetheart, grab that next order, will you?” Curtis yelled from the countertop. 

“On it- which table, Gus?” 

“Four.” Waverly grabbed the tray and side-stepped around her uncle. Times like this, she wished Rachel wasn’t in school to help them out, but she managed. 

“Veggies burger and fries.” She placed the plate down and was immediately in shock when she noticed who she was serving. “Fireman-woman Haught. Surprised to see you here.” 

“Well, when I see something I like, I don’t want to wait,” Nicole’s eyes drifted down to her midsection, where a sliver of Waverly’s abs was on display. “… and it’s my day off.” Nicole quickly added; her face turning red. “Thought I would get better familiarized with Purgatory.” 

“Are you volunteering in the area or…”

Waverly noticed how Nicole seemed uncomfortable by the question and shifted awkwardly in their seat. “I, uh, moved here.” 

“Oh, well, it’s nice to see a new face around here.” Movement caught Waverly’s attention. She gave Nicole an apologetic smile, then went about her normal working

routine. 

Returning food tray, bussing tables, and wiping them down clean. Waverly glanced over at Nicole’s table, softly smiling when they accidentally made eye contact. A smirk spread across Nicole’s face and a glint in her eyes that made Waverly shiver. No one ever had this effect on her before, and she barely knew the woman. This stranger, who apparently already knew her, made her feel things that scared her. Feelings that Waverly never thought were possible to feel. 

For the past few days, without Waverly even realizing, she was daydreaming about redhead, brown eyes, and oddly enough, fire. Daydreams that quickly turned  _ interesting. Sexy _ . Making Waverly wish she wasn’t working so she could deal the inferno building between her legs. Waverly didn’t know the woman and yet, all she could do was think about her.  _ I really need to get laid _ , Waverly thought; cringing at how  _ Wynonna _ that sounded in her head. 

“Waverly, watch out!” Waverly was so deep in thought that she didn’t realize that someone was walking around her just as she was returning another tray of dirty dishes. The tray flipped up and Waverly stumbled to the floor. Or at least would have if someone hadn’t caught her from behind. 

“Whoa, I got you.” She instantly recognized the voice speaking in her ear. A pair of arms wrapped around Waverly’s midsection. The skin on skin contact made her hands feel a little clammy, and her body seemed warmer than usual. 

“Thanks.” Waverly squeaked. Her body melted against Nicole’s and felt herself leaning towards the embrace. Her eyes widened when something hard brushed against her ass. “Wh-Are you-” 

“Excuse me.” Nicole quickly stepped back, double checking to make sure Waverly was okay before bolting off towards the bathroom. Waverly couldn’t help but notice the fear in Nicole’s eyes. Behind that fear, though, Waverly swore she saw a hint of desire and possibly a slight bulge in the redhead’s pants. The latter of the two was probably just her imagination. Wasn’t it? 

  
  


**∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞**

  
  


The latch on the bathroom stall door sliding into place was almost deafening. All the blood in Nicole’s face had drained down to places she wished it hadn’t. Sporting a boner was the last thing Nicole needed right now, especially around the woman she had a crush on. And in a public place during rush hour. It was a double whammy that Nicole never wanted to encounter. She started taking deep breaths and thinking about anything that wasn’t Waverly bent over a table, wiping it down clean. 

If Nicole had known Waverly was working the day shift, she would have gotten lunch somewhere else; Despite wanting to be around the beautiful woman again. From the moment Nicole laid eyes on her, she knew she wanted to get to know her better. Possibly become friends with Waverly, maybe something more if that was what Waverly wanted too. 

The first time Nicole saw Waverly, it was at her first call with Purgatory’s fire department; Station 77. An abandoned building on the edge of town had gone up in flames. When the department showed up, Nicole quickly realized that the building was a sanctuary for the homeless. Dozens of people lined behind an invisible line. A woman, from what Nicole could tell, was doing her best to keep everyone away from the fire and making sure they were okay until the medical team showed up. In that moment, Nicole appreciated the help. Keeping people away from the scene made it easier for them to control the flames. She didn’t know who the woman was, but instantly could tell from across the yard that she was beautiful. 

Once the fire was contained and put out, Nicole took time to rehab. Oxygen mask, water, deep breathing exercises; all to make sure her health was top notch and not risking any problems (all protocol). She tried to catch sight of the brunette and noticed her helping one of the other firefighters, Robin Jett, if she remembered correctly. He usually got assigned to the aid car. His medical knowledge and expertise were of better use there than where the  _ action _ happened. 

“Hey, Jett.” Nicole walked over to him, sitting down in the back of the aid car. “Who was that that was assisting you?”

“A friend of mine from high school. Waverly Earp. Whenever she isn’t busy working, she’s here with a vehicle full of supplies. Essential, really.”

“Waverly Earp, huh.” Nicole said. Testing the name and loving how it sounded on her tongue.  _ Pretty name for a pretty girl _ , she thought.

A knock on the door followed by a soft ‘hello’ broke Nicole from her thoughts. “Fireman-woman Haught.” Nicole smiled at the cuteness of Waverly instantly correcting herself. “Are you okay in here?” 

Nicole took another staggering breath, unconsciously looking down, grateful that her erection had gone away. The last thing she needed was to masturbate in the bathroom of Shorty’s just because she couldn’t  _ keep it in her pants _ . It would have been embarrassing to explain to someone she hardly knew and had a crush on like the useless gay she was. 

“Uh, yea. I’m fine.” She rolled her eyes at herself. Nicole hated the fact that her voice cracked at the end.

“It’s just…” There was a long pause. Nicole wondered if Waverly had slipped out of the bathroom quieter than any mouse could. “You know what, never mind. Forget that I was even in here.” 

It took a whole ten seconds for Nicole’s brain to catch up to what was happening. “Wait!” As she opened the stall door, the main door to the restroom was closing; just barely enough time to see a glimpse of brunette hair and a red and blue shirt. Nicole watched the door close the rest of the way, releasing the breath she didn’t realize she was holding. “Dammit.” 

“Waverly, wait!” Nicole caught up to her before Waverly was back out on the floor of the bar. 

“I said to forget about it. Please.” Waverly pleaded. 

“I can’t.” Nicole admitted and blushed at the fact of how easy it was to Waverly. She cleared her throat. “I’m just going to be blunt with you, okay. Whatever you were about to say in there, you were probably right, but I… I can’t get into it. At least not right now.” Nicole quickly added the last sentence when she noticed Waverly’s small smile falter. 

“How long have you been in Purgatory?” 

Nicole was taken aback. “Wh-what?”

“How long ago did you move here?” Waverly asked again. 

“A month ago.” Nicole paused. Watching a sly smile grace Waverly’s face; instantly picking up where this conversation was going. “Don’t know the area all that well yet. Captain Allenbach said it would do me some good if I familiarized myself so I don’t get lost. You wouldn’t know anyone willing to be a tour guide for an hour or two, would you?” 

“I just might know a person,.” Waverly winked at her and walked away. A sway to her hips that might not have been noticeable to anyone else but to Nicole, it made her wish she could go back into the bathroom with no one watching her. 

  
  


**∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞**

  
  


A few hours later, Waverly presses her body against the door, her hand still lingering on the handle. She couldn’t believe what she had done just now. Gus allowed her to take a lunch break fifteen minutes earlier, after the rush had slowed down immensely. Nicole had kept her company at the bar when she was done eating her lunch. Conversation flowed easily between them, making the lunch rush feel like a breeze. 

She didn’t know Nicole, and yet the moment the two parted ways, Waverly leaned forward and kissed Nicole’s cheek. Halfway up the stairs, Waverly realized what she did then ran the rest the rest of the way up.  _ Maybe Nicole didn’t notice or mind _ , Waverly hoped for the latter of the two. 

Waverly glanced at her clock on her desk. Twenty-fives until her break was over and she had to go deal with the second half of her shift. Her mind drifted to earlier when Nicole’s body was pressed up against hers. There were a couple of different explanations to what Waverly had felt touching her butt, and both thoughts swirling around her head caused a heat to stir in her lower belly. 

“Argh.” Waverly groaned. She had a decision to make. Deal with the situation that was going on between her legs now or wait until after her shift was over and pray the throbbing in her core would go away. “Nope.” 

Waverly locked her door and quickly jumped on her bed. She propped up her pillows and laid her back down on them. Her room was eerily quiet, but that wasn’t going to stop her, not unless someone knocked on her door. Without a second thought, Waverly undid her pants and slid her hand down; sighing when her fingers made contact where she needed it most. Desperately trying not to think about red hair, brown eyes and muscular arms.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, I still don't know where this story is going but I'm watching Station 19 and its giving me some inspiration for some fire-like situations for Nicole to get in and the rest if the Earp family. So who knows what I'll put them through... I'm so sorry. (I'm literally laughing right now while typing this. It just means my evil ass is going to put them through the ringer!) 
> 
> ALSO: please know my editing program is really slow because my state is getting the 5G update and it's effecting the program. Badly! I hate it. I planned on updating another one of my fics today but that might not happen until tomorrow. So look out for my kidnapped/missing/different identity AU.


	3. Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone give Waverly a damn glass of water. That girl is _thirsty_! 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!! I'm back with another chapter of G!P Firefighter Haught. Wanted to get this posted yesterday but I didn't finish writing this until earlier today. 
> 
> Fluff, teasing, some more fluff, and a whole lot of sexual tension
> 
> P.S: I need to edit!

**Few days later...**

“So let me get this straight,” Waverly said as she and Nicole walked down the sidewalk of Main Street. “You’ve been here for almost six weeks and you haven’t explored the town except while on the job. Do you not drive the engines to the fires?” 

Nicole chuckled nervously, lightly scratching at the back of her neck. They had been walking around town for almost a half an hour and the conversation had been flowing easily between the two. Mostly about the history of the town and most of the residents they had run into along the way. “Uh, yea. Sounds a little ridiculous out loud, doesn’t it?” 

Waverly brought her hand up, fist closed minus her pointer finger and thumb. Leaving a gap between them. “Just a bit.” She smiled. 

The pair had met up at the fire station. Nicole gave Waverly a first class tour of the department. Giving her the rundown of the engines and aid car. Where each room was and even went as far as showing off her skills to put on her turnouts when a call comes through. 

A small part of Waverly knew it was Nicole’s way of impressing her with her skills, but she could also tell that Nicole loved her job. The wide dimpled grin on her face while slipping on the rainbow suspenders (not standard issue, but Captain Allenbach allows it) Waverly knew it was genuine. She also saw the happiness shining brightly in Nicole’s eyes when they met her hazel ones, when the redhead slid on her turnout coat. 

“Though I have years of experience, I’m considered a rookie at the station until I can give directions without the help of google maps.” They both laughed. 

Waverly spun around, slowly walking backwards. “Well, you’re in luck. I happen to be an expert on all things Purgatory and will have you walking the streets blindfolded without getting lost in the process.” She grinned. 

Nicole couldn’t hold back her own smile. The sides of Waverly’s eyes crinkled and her eyes flashed with excitement and something else Nicole couldn’t decipher. Her smile was almost as bright as the sun, and Nicole wanted to see that smile over and over again. To be the reason, Waverly smiled like that. She blinked. Sun light flickered as she captured that moment, that smile, to memory like a photo. 

If Waverly was paying better attention and not daydreaming about what it would be like to kiss Nicole, she would have remembered that Purgatory’s sidewalks were murderous. The moon’s craters were smaller than what lived in the cement. Maybe she could ask Mother Nature and have the ground swallow her whole. The amount of times she had tripped in Nicole’s presence just might earn her a medal. Now being no different. Her foot stepped on a crack in the sidewalk, almost twisting her ankle in the process. Waverly was so focused on Nicole that she lost her balance and started falling backwards. 

Nicole leaped forward. One hand grabbed Waverly’s arm while the other went around her back. “I got you.” She said reassuring Waverly as she stood up and brought the smaller woman up with her. 

Vanilla. That was all Waverly could smell. She breathed in deeply again and noticed a hint of Shae butter. Everything about Nicole filled her senses, and it was intoxicating. Waverly craved it like a drug addiction. Likes flies to a burning light. Her arm burned at Nicole’s touch. A hand print would likely be there for days, and Waverly didn’t care. She welcomed the burn with open arms and ice to cool down the touch. 

Waverly’s eyes flitted up and caught mocha ones staring down into her own. It felt like Nicole was staring into her soul. Slowly lighting her insides on fire. Water would be of no use. It would only serve as gasoline instead. Engulfing her into flames that could only be put out by one person. The same person who easily turned her entire body into an inferno. Match, set, burned. Purgatory firefighters contained wildfires better than what Waverly was dealing with.

There was another sensation that Waverly felt, but ignored it. It was easy to ignore when the sun was looking down at her like _that_.

She glanced down at slightly chapped lips from the warm, humid air. Imagining them to be soft, plump and perfect against her own lips. Waverly blinked and felt her face flushed for staring at Nicole’s lips longer than what was deemed appropriate. Without a doubt, her face probably matched Nicole’s hair. She quickly averted her eyes, lowering her head to keep from looking back up to the inviting pair of lips. 

The opening of Nicole’s blue v-neck shirt had brushed over to the left side, and Waverly got a clear view of the redhead’s collarbone. Earlier that morning, Waverly thought she saw the beginning line of a tattoo there but ignored it; chucking it up to a loose thread. Now, Waverly knew for sure that what she assumed was a tattoo, was definitely a tattoo. The black line went straight up and down like a- the tattoo was a heartbeat, or a partial heartbeat. Waverly wasn’t quite sure and didn’t want to assume. 

“Waverly.” Nicole whispered above her. It was the first time Nicole had said something since catching her. “You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m okay.” Waverly whispered back. Afraid that if she spoke too loud, it would break their bubble. She brought her hand up and grazed the thin black line that was visible to her. “You have a tattoo.” 

Nicole’s body tensed under her touch. Waverly could hear Nicole’s breathing become heavier the longer she kept her finger on the firefighter’s collarbone. Something deep within Waverly knew that if she asked to see or know the story behind the tattoo, Nicole would pull away and build skyscrapers around her. The complete opposite of what Waverly wanted.

A hand wrapped around Waverly’s, gently squeezing. “Wave’s.” Nicole’s voice cracked. 

Waverly looked up and instantly wished she hadn’t touched the tattoo. Nicole’s eyes were ladened with pain and sorrow. “I won’t ask but… if you ever want to tell me, I’m here. As a friend.” She hesitated on the last sentence. The word friend sent the kind of shrills down her spine that were unwelcome. Vomit was the next word she could think of. Being Nicole’s friend was the last thing she wanted and hoped that the dance between her and Nicole wasn’t just that. A dance with no intimacy. No emotion. Just movement between two people that held no feelings between them. 

“Friend. Right.” Nicole prayed that her face didn’t match the way she sounded. Disappointed. Waverly’s own features softened. Busted. There was no use in covering up how she felt. Being in the same space as Waverly had her feeling like she was on cloud nine. How that was possible after knowing the brunette for such a short time, she didn’t know. Nor did Nicole care. Waverly held the oxygen she needed to breathe and knew she’d do anything to be near her every chance she could. 

The hand holding on to her own drifted downward. Much like Waverly’s eyes; landing back on Nicole’s lips. The surrounding air changed again. The entire town of Purgatory could run off them for how much electricity was filling the space between them. Waverly could feel herself levitating. Feet no longer touching the ground as she dared to know what Nicole’s lips tasted like. 

Breathes mingled together. Feather like brushes against their noses while lips parted. Then a loud slam from a nearby door broke whatever trance they were in. Waverly jumped back, touching her mouth as if she had burned them. Avoiding meeting Nicole’s gaze. Afraid that she’d see something that would make her stomach turn. 

Waverly spun back around, trying desperately to not think about how close she was to kissing Nicole. She rounded the building and instantly collided with someone. 

“I’m so sor-” Waverly brought her head back, noticing who she ran into. “Aren’t you supposed to be helping Wynonna and Rosita at the club?” Waverly lifted an eyebrow, the corner of her mouth curving into a half smile, watching as Rachel sputtered for a response. 

Rachel’s face turned beet red and looked everywhere that wasn’t Waverly’s knowing smirk. “I uh-um… paint. Getting paint.” The teenager shifted on her feet, clearly uncomfortable. 

“You left them alone for two seconds, didn’t you?” Waverly suppressed the laugh that threatened to spill. It didn’t matter where they were, if Wynonna and her girlfriend thought they were alone, they’d use that to their advantage. 

“They’re energized bunnies on speed and all those batteries are their babies! I think I heard one of them say something about milking skunks and I bounced. Wasn’t sticking around after _that_ .” Her eyes shifted behind Waverly’s head, catching sight of another person. “You're a firefighter Haught, right? Red hair, brown eyes, fire helmet. _Haught_.” 

The tips of Waverly’s ears burned with embarrassment. Before Nicole could respond, Waverly stepped forward. “OKAY! How about you head over to Magpie’s junkyard? I betcha’ you’ll find something real cute over there!”

Waverly smirked in triumph, watching Rachel’s face go pale. “How- I never- Billy is just a friend!” A mischievous look came across Rachel’s. One that told Waverly that whatever was about to come out of her mouth next, wasn’t going to be good. “The kind of friend I don’t write love stories about… unlike you.” 

“Okay, time for you to go now.” Her face reddened even more, if it were even possible. The roots of Waverly’s hair burned from the heat of her embarrassment. The last thing she needed was Nicole finding out that she…

“You’re an author.” Nicole stated. There wasn’t an ounce of teasing or accusing her of being creepy. Just a statement of curiosity. 

Her face fell at the realization of what Nicole referred to her as. An author meant she had published something for the world to see, and Waverly wasn’t even close to finishing a manuscript yet. At least, not a decent manuscript that she wanted strangers reading, anyway. She felt her body deflate like a balloon. Her writing would probably never be good enough for publication. The little voice inside her head reminded her of that every time she thought it was. So her works stayed in the shadows where they belonged. Where the only pair of eyes that would read the words that have been written, were her own. 

Being brave enough to publish a novel wasn’t something Waverly figured she’d become. The thought of others reading her works made the pit of her stomach twist and turn. “Ca-can’t be an author if you don’t publish.” Waverly forced out. Ignoring how her throat tightened up. The idea of emptying the contents of her stomach all over the sidewalk was looking better and better by the second. 

Nicole instantly noticed the change in Waverly’s demeanor. Her body was as tense as a wind-up toy, and her face turned three shades of green. She wanted to comfort Waverly in a way that didn’t seem creepy. Then the words Waverly said hit her. Waverly was nervous. “So you’re a writer instead. That’s still impressive.” 

Waverly turned her head and eyed Nicole suspiciously. Wondering if she was mocking her or was about to say something like ‘ _anyone can be a writer_.’ Instead, all she saw was warmth swirling in those chocolate eyes that stirred something deep in her belly. 

“I don’t have the patience for writing. All that time and research you’d have to put into the story,” Nicole continued, a small smile gracing her face. “It has to be frustrating and exhilarating at the same time. To be the sole person to know what happens at the end of a book before everyone else does. I can’t imagine what it must take to outline an entire book. What?” 

Halfway through, Waverly’s jaw dropped. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Most people she talked to mocked her or told her writing was a waste of time and that there was no actual career in it. The only people that encouraged her to pursue her dreams were her family and two friends, Chrissy and Jeremy. Waverly shook her head. “It’s- nothing. Nothing at all.” 

It wasn’t nothing, though. In fact, it meant everything to Waverly, but she wasn’t going to voice that. Not yet, anyway. She shook her head again and started walking. Doing her best to hide her grin. Thinking about her recent work stopped Waverly in her tracks; ignoring Nicole when she asked if she was okay. 

Waverly whipped out her phone and opened the notes section. She wasn’t about to lose whatever was playing in her head. 

  
  


*** * * * ***

  
  


_The strangest thing happened to her. Something she never imagined feeling or experience in her lifetime. A spark vibrated in her veins. Zooey’s heart raced a mile a minute. The firefighter standing in front of her; Tall, tanned, dark hair, and insanely beautiful; could probably see the smoke coming out of her ears._

_The thing about sparks, though, even the tiniest of sparks can cause an inferno._

_And the name, Tayra, was the source of the flames burning inside her._

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what do you guys think of the ending there? Do you think Waverly will show Nicole at some point? Or maybe someone will "accidentally" send Nicole the manuscript? 
> 
> Who knows! 
> 
> Also: 
> 
> Someone yell me to finish editing other fic's and to type the next chapter of ATYH and the Medieval AU!!! Encourage my muse. 
> 
> Encourage: Scream at me. Threaten me! Do something! Please!


	4. Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Both Waverly and Nicole spend some time with their best friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Would saying sorry now soften the blow for the ending of this chapter?

Nicole picked up the last box and moved it to one of the spare bedrooms. “You know, when I asked if you wanted to hangout this weekend, this isn’t what I had in mind.” She glanced at the woman leaning against her door frame. 

  
  


“A platonic Netflix and chill with a thousand boxes surrounding us, just waiting to storm the castle? No thanks.” 

  
  


The empty room echoed Nicole’s laughter. It had been months since she had last spent any actual time with her best friend. Shae had always been there for her and never turned a blind eye when the truth came out about Nicole. Shae was more intrigued and wanted to know more about Nicole, medically.

  
  


She and Shae had been friends since middle school. Nicole’s family had moved after a tragic accident that happened that left Nicole devastated. Her parents felt it was beneficial to her health that they move away from all the memories. Those memories stayed close to Nicole’s heart, and she often thought about them despite her parents saying it wasn’t healthy to stay in the past. 

  
  


Nicole shook her head, trying to rid herself from falling into the darkness. “How’s residency going?” She asked cheerfully, hoping it would mask her pain.

  
  


Shae sighed. “Tiring, as always. But so worth it in the end. Some days are hard, though. Losing patients will never be easy.” She paused. “One of the doctors I work with told me that when losing patients does become easy to quit. A doctor should never be okay with losing their patients.” 

  
  


“Sounds like a smart doctor.” Nicole mused. Brushing her hands off. 

  
  


“She really is.” A blush dusted Shae’s cheeks. She started coughing to cover up her face, but it was too late. 

  
  


“Oh, you have a crush on your advisor! Details, woman!” 

  
  


Shae pointed her finger at Nicole. “Oh no. You are not diving into my love life after the giant ass goofy smile I saw plastered on your face earlier when someone texted you. And you promised!” She added in quickly. It was the first time in a long time that Shae had seen Nicole smile so much. “So, details woman!” Shae mocked. 

  
  


Nicole dove into every detail that played on her mind when it came to one Waverly Earp. Well, the clean details. The sexy details stayed in the dark depth of Nicole’s mind. The last thing she needed was Shae teasing her about other _embarrassing_ things. _No need to add fuel to the fire_ , Nicole mused. She accidentally slipped up about her lunch at Shortys when she thought Waverly felt a mistakable bulge in her pants after catching her. Nicole figured Shae would have laughed at her but her friend didn’t. 

  
  


Shae noticed the fear in Nicole’s eyes after recalling the memory. Without a doubt, Shae knew that was Nicoles’s biggest setback in dating. Few people accepted those who were different, especially people like Nicole. It was why Nicole held back on partying or going on blind dates. The fear of them calling her a freak or just not wanting anything to do with Nicole scared her to death.

  
  


“You know, when there’s a fire, everyone runs away except me. I run towards them. Yet, when it comes to her- God, Shae. A girl like that wouldn’t want anything to do with me.”

  
  


Shae walked over to Nicole and laid a hand on her shoulder. “Nicole, if you think Waverly already knows about you and you two still shared a moment last weekend that almost resulted in a kiss, don’t you think you’re being a bit hard on yourself? Seems to me, Waverly already likes you and doesn’t mind that you’re different.” She reasoned. 

  
  


The words rang in her head repeatedly. Shae may have had a point. The text message Nicole had received earlier play on her mind and a slow smile tugged at her lips. Though it was a simple text, it gave Nicole butterflies. Waverly had asked if she wanted to spend lunch together but sadly declined. She didn’t want to abandon her best friend for a lunch date. Would it be a date? Or two friends hanging out? Would the offer still stand? Could Nicole have Waverly meet her best friend while she got to spend time with her crush? Would it be so bad to just show up at Shorty’s before Waverly’s lunch break? 

  
  


**∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞**

  
  


It had been weeks since Waverly last saw Chrissy. Jermey was supposed to tag along but had a previous engagement to be at and no further details were given. Rumor was, he was having _problems_ with his fire alarm and asked firefighter Jett to look at it. In case there was something else going on that Jermey didn’t know about. _Safety first_ , Jeremy would argue, and it had nothing to do with the obvious crush he had on the firefighter.

  
  


There wasn’t much to discuss. Work. Haught firefighter. Some progress made on her possible novel idea. Rachel being scarred for life by Wynonna and Rosita. Glory Hole’s repairs were completed and could reopen soon. Surely there wasn’t anything of importance to talk about. 

  
  


A squeal filled the air. It was loud and contained more excitement than a child on Christmas Day. The noise bounced off the walls and vibrated through Waverly’s ears, leaving a ringing sound in its wake. Telling your best friend certain information could lead to unwanted headaches. 

  
  


Chrissy bounced off from her spot on the bed and lunged for the laptop and notebook on the desk. The hot firefighter could wait. Reading parts of Waverly’s novel was much more enticing. Waiting for words to be written felt like an eternity for her and she wasn’t about to waste another second. No matter how much Waverly protested that she waited until the finished product. Chrissy didn’t have that kind of patience. 

  
  


“Woman, would it kill you to change your damn password once in a decade?” Chrissy gave Waverly a skeptical look and giggled at the pout Waverly gave back. She opened safari and went straight to Google Docs. Waverly’s preferred place to use and store her writing. “Okay. No talking. I’m reading now.” 

_Humid air surrounded them. Their skin glistening with a layer of sweat. A single droplet ran down Zooey’s spine. She cursed the sun for destroying her favorite tank top, now sweat soaked from the heat._

  
  


_The trees they walked between did nothing to help shade the sun. Their trail shined under the bright blue sky. Zooey was a planner through and through and calculated this misfortune. She had a plan and was going to put it forth like the crafty fox she was._

  
  


_“It’s nice out here.” Tayra said aloud._

  
  


_“I love it out here. Peaceful and quiet some days. Woodland creatures are noisy when they think humans aren’t around.” Zooey chuckled to herself as a memory danced through her mind._

  
  


_Almost an hour later, they arrived at the destination. Rocks covered with moss lined the riverbed. Water falling and crashing into the land below. Steam rose where the water connected, creating a beautiful rainbow that glimmered within it._

  
  


_Zooey kneeled and glided her hand over the water. Enjoying the cool touch to her overheated skin. The action reminded her of a moment from days prior when she touched the firefighters’ heated skin after Tayra came out of a burning building without her turnouts on._

  
  


“Hold up! Are- you’re basing this off your hot firefighter friend!” Waverly’s face turned as red as a tomato. “Oh my god, you are! You need to dish out more info on her!” 

  
  


Waverly reached out, trying to take her laptop away from her best friend. “Alright. Enough reading for you.” 

  
  


“Oh no, you don’t.” Chrissy jumped away from Waverly. Beginning to read out loud. 

  
  


_Zooey stood back up, observing her favorite place. “Beautiful, isn’t it?” Her voice carried with the wind, while looking over at the waterfall._

  
  


_“Beautiful, indeed.” Tayra said, staring directly at Zooey. She cleared her throat and walked closer to the fall._

  
  


_If Zooey had glanced back, she would have seen the same desire in Tayra’s green eyes that reflected in her blue ones._

  
  


Chrissy looked up from the screen and Waverly. Her friend was worrying her bottom, eyes wide and frightened. Any sudden movement and Waverly could fall off the bed and run away in fear. Waverly reminded her of a cat getting scared, and its hair stood up on end. She never understood why Waverly was always nervous about people reading her work. Waverly was a brilliant writer. Though English projects didn’t showcase much of her creativity side, Waverly made up for it through the assignments. Chrissy knew her best friend was talented, and what laid in front of her further proved that statement. 

  
  


“Wave, this is amazing.”

  
  


“It’s just a snippet. Nothing special. Stupid, really.” 

  
  


Chrissy felt her jaw drop. “Stupid? Why do you always put yourself down when it comes to your writing? Just because this isn’t ten pages long, doesn’t mean its stupid or nothing. You’re just getting back into writing after months of writer’s block.” She sat back down next to Waverly and handed the laptop over. “Don’t beat yourself up, okay.”

  
  


Waverly laid her head on Chrissy’s shoulder, taking in a deep breath and letting it out slowly. If there was one person who could always lift her spirits, it was Chrissy. She let the weight of Chrissy’s words hit her like a ton of bricks. What Chrissy said was accurate. She was diminishing her writing. Nasty habit of hers, and Chrissy knew that. 

  
  


There was so much insecurity swirling around in green eyes. Too much for Chrissy’s liking. She needed to change the subject. Something less daunting and a little more sizzling. 

  
  


“Tell me about your _Haught_ firefighter.” 

  
  


The blush that dusted Waverly’s cheeks caused another hit pitch squeal to erupt from the blonde. Waverly wanted to Chrissy everything, but there were some things that would keep to herself. People always referred to her as an angel, yet the things she thought about a certain redheaded firefighter last night and earlier that morning with a vibrator between her legs were anything but angelic. In fact, they were rather sinister. Her face reddened at the dirty images in her mind. She definitely wasn’t revealing those thoughts to her best friend. Waverly would never hear the end of it if Chrissy found out who played through her mind during sexy times. 

  
  


Waverly talked animatedly about Nicole. A smile on her face the entire time. She hadn’t talked that much and that enthusiastically about someone in a long while. Chrissy couldn’t help but smile along with her. It was the first time in years she had seen her best friend react like that about anyone. Whoever this Nicole Haught was, really captured Waverly attention and quite her heart. 

  
  


**∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞**

  
  


Nicole and Shae walked down the same sidewalk where Nicole almost kissed Waverly. She tried not to think about how luscious the shorter woman’s lips were. How desperately she wished she had closed the gap between them, blocking out the rest of the world while kissing Waverly senseless. Damn door interrupting her moment with the woman she hadn’t stopped thinking about. Her hand subconsciously went to her collarbone, rubbing along her tattoo. 

  
  


Friend. The word shot off in her head, louder than a gunshot. That’s what Waverly said they were. Nicole’s heart pang with regret and pain. She wanted to tell Waverly that she wanted more. Being friends wasn’t enough, but would sideline her feelings if that was what Waverly wanted from her. 

  
  


_Waverly already likes you._

  
  


Shae’s words continued to play on her mind. Nicole wanted to believe Shae, but her insecurities got the better of her. She thought back to last weekend. Waverly leaning up and their breaths mingling together. Waverly initiated it. _Maybe Shae is right. Waverly does like me. But will she think when she finds out the truth about me? Will she accept me or run away in disgust?_ Nicole wondered. 

  
  


People shouting brought Nicole out of her thoughts. She felt Shae’s hand grip her forearm. Nicole looked up and felt her stomach drop. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don’t take out the pitch forks, please! Just know a certain scene that has helped fuel this fic will be coming into play next chapter. I think you all know which scene I’m talking about. 
> 
> And no, it’s not the stair scene you perves 🤣🤪


	5. Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Let's find out where that fire is and if anyone is inside, shall we?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you come across a word that looks likes **this**, just know that's it me putting ** around the words that are in italics. My editing program cancels them out when putting it back onto Google docs.

Clouds of thick black smoke filled the sky. Sirens wailed in the distance. Time slowed down to a crawl while Nicole’s heart rate sped up. The blood in her face drained. Her ears pounded to the rhythm of her heart. The thumping was so loud that it blocked all sounds out as she looked at the building slowly going up in flames. 

Training school taught her well. Not well enough to put aside personal feelings while on the job. Problem was, she had the day off. She wasn’t sitting in the engine in her turnouts awaiting orders from her captain upon arrival to the scene. No, she was an onlooker waiting for the help to arrive. Waiting wasn’t Nicole’s style. Not when people’s lives were at risk. Not when _her_ life could be at risk. 

She had parked the truck around the block. Too far to turn back around. Nicole slammed her hand into her jeans pocket and thrusted them into Shae’s hand. “Get my truck. Park here. I’m gonna need my spare gear.” Nicole went to run but felt the hand squeezing her bicep, holding her back.

“What?” Nicole questioned. Irritated that she was losing time. Before Shae could respond, a voice caught both of their attention. 

“They're people still inside!” 

Nicole bolted towards the building. Ignoring the shouts coming from her best friend. She’ll deal with Shae’s wrath later. Lives were at stake and she needed to save them. 

Off duty firefighters didn’t take the sidelines. They helped in any way they could. Running into a building filled with smoke and with no oxygen tank attached to them, was just plain dumb. Nicole Haught was a smart firefighter, and everyone who worked with her knew that. Right now, she was an idiot. Fully fledged, Cappa Fried Haught idiot! 

Curtis emerged from the entrance with Gus by his side. Both coughing from the smoke. “The fire.” Curtis coughed again. “Smoke everywhere. Can hardly see… Waverly… upstairs.” 

With a firm nod, Nicole ran past the couple and took a quick look. A thick layer of smoke filled the entire bar. _Visibility approximately 5%_ , Nicole mentally checked off the box in her head. She turned her head and found the flight of stairs. Times like these, her helmet would be handy. Unfortunately, it was back at the station patiently waiting to be used inside her locker.

Nicole turned her back towards the exit and inhaled. She may not know how to swim very well, but she could hold her breath up to two-and-a-half minutes. 

The railing was hot. Steam rising from the heat and borderline going up in flames. By her calculations, the wood used was old and frail and, unfortunately, kindling to an open fire. Meaning the building might not be saveable. 

Just as Nicole had thought, her visibility was at zero. The top of the stairs was a mass of thick black and grey smoke. Nicole remembered from her conversation with Waverly last week, Shortys had two apartments upstairs. The first one belonged to Waverly, the other one vacant. 

Distant shouts were heard from outside. One voice sounding like Nicole’s captain. She barely heard it over the drum beating in her chest. Nicole shimmed her way along the wall; Her only source of sight. She turned her head a little, roughly seven feet from the staircase. An outlining of a doorframe caught her attention. The door handle was hot against the back of her hand. No touching the handle or else she’d burn her palms.

Roughly a minute and half left of oxygen in her lungs. Nicole had to move quicker. She lifted her right leg and slammed her foot against the door, busting it open. The room engulfed in smoke; the flames getting closer. Nicole instantly knew that there was only a small amount of time before the room was engulfed into flames. She got down on all fours and started crawling. Visibility back to 5% but only for a short amount of time. 

A minute left on her internal clock before her lungs filled with smoke. Nicole had to stay focused. Stomping pulsed through her ears. Help was on the way. Her left hand brushed against something solid. Sweaty. Hot to the touch. She moved her hand a little more to the right and felt the beginning of someone’s arm. Her right hand joined the left and Nicole moved faster than she ever had before. 

“Haught, you moron.” Nicole heard her Captain’s muffled voice, but ignored him. He wasn’t important. Not when someone was lying on the floor unconscious. 

She patted up the body until her hands found the person’s neck. Nicole pressed her two of her fingers down on their pulse point. One. Two. Three. Pulse. Alive, but barely stable. 

Nicole’s eyes focused on the body as she slowly lifted herself and them off the floor. Visibility was back at zero, yet Nicole saw a glimpse of brown, golden hair. _Waverly_. 

Waverly’s body was limp and heavy. Not the way Nicole imagined holding Waverly for the first time. _Focus Haught. Save girl first. Swoon later_ . She placed Waverly over her right shoulder. Fireman’s carry. Bridal style, though sweet and romantic, not efficient when saving someone’s ass. No matter how fine of an ass it was. _Focus, Nicole_. 

Three figures passed Nicole as she sprinted down the stairs. More shouts came from behind her. Nicole ignored her new team. She had to get Waverly out of there. 

Nicole squinted at the beaming light coming from the exit. Fresh air filled her lungs, and it had never tasted so good. 

“Waverly!” Nicole looked up and saw the same woman Waverly was with the night she introduced herself to the woman over her shoulder. Wynonna, Waverly’s older sister. 

“I need a gurney over here. Stat!” Nicole barked orders. She carefully laid Waverly down on the small cart when Robin carted it to her. “Smoke inhalation. Weak pulse. Possible hypoxia.” 

“You’re an idiot for running in there, Haught.” Robin shook his head at Nicole. He placed the oxygen mask over Waverly’s face and began moving her to the aid car. Moving out of the way for the other firefighters. 

“Waverly.” Wynonna’s voice bellowed out. Nicole watched as Waverly’s older sister, aunt and uncle, all came running to the gurney. “Breathe, you asshole!” Wynonna grabbed her sister's arm, matching Robin’s pace to the aid car. 

“Wynonna, you need to let them do their job” A woman Nicole had never seen before said from Wynonna’s side. She had black hair, tan skin, and was wearing a white tank top that barely covered her breasts and a pair of slim fitting jeans. “Will she be okay?” 

Nicole was about to say something, when she felt a hand touch her shoulder. She turned and instantly had arms wrapped around her waist. Robin continued to focus on Waverly as he carted into the ambulance. Her mind was going a mile a minute and yet Nicole could only think about one thing. Waverly. Nicole prayed that she was going to be okay. 

She tried to ignore the quizzical, almost disappointed look on Wynonna's face before focusing on the woman in her arms. 

**∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞**

  
  


The first thing Waverly noticed as her eyes fluttered opened was the smell. Disinfectant and chemicals and whatever else her nose was picking up on. Her eyes slammed shut from the brightness of the light. A small whimper escaped her lips, and it was then that her throat felt like it was filled with cotton balls. 

Waverly slowly reopened her eyes and looked around the room. In the corner, Wynonna sat uncomfortably in one chair while Rosita sat next to her, rubbing a hand up and down the woman’s back. She noted everything and realized that she was in a hospital and was the one lying in the bed. _How did I get here_ , Waverly wondered. 

It took a minute for Waverly to recall everything that had happened. Her memory was still a little fuzzy but could remember that there was smoke. Lots of smoke. How she got out of Shortys was the question. Who rescued her? Did Wynonna save her? Rosita? Chrissy? Gus or Curtis? One of the firefighters? Who was Waverly going to thank for saving her life?

A knock on the door pulled Waverly from her thoughts. “Good afternoon, Miss Earp. Glad to see you awake.” The doctor said with a smile on his face. 

Wynonna instantly woke up from the sound of the door closing and immediately jumped to Waverly’s bedside. Throwing her arms around Waverly. “Don’t ever do that again, baby girl.”

“I don’t know exactly what I did.” Waverly coughed a little; smiling at the doctor in thanks for the small cup of water he handed her. 

“Miss Earp, I’m Dr. King. I’m going to ask you a series of questions that I would like you to answer. Can you do that for me?” 

Waverly nodded her, confusion clouding her mind. She listened intently to the doctor's words and answered each question he threw at her. The one that stumped her the most was how she ended up in the hospital. Though the how question bothered her, Waverly didn’t want to let it show. It wasn’t that big of a deal. Right? 

Dr. King continued to explain her symptoms in depth. Furthering his explanation when Wynonna stared at the man like he was Fluffy from Harry Potter. The longer the doctor explained, Waverly started fidgeting with her hospital gown. She hated hospitals. Very rarely had anything good came out of being inside of them. At least in Waverly’s case. She shivered at the horrible memory of the last time she was at the hospital.

“Are you cold, Wave.” Rosita whispered to her. Waverly shook her head, grateful that Wynonna’s girlfriend was attentive to everyone she cared about. “Okay. What’s wrong then?”

A soft knock on the door caught her attention, and Waverly couldn’t have been more grateful for a distraction. She really didn’t want to get into that conversation while laying in a hospital bed with a doctor she didn't know in the room. A nurse came in to check Waverly’s vitals, then left with Dr. King trailing behind her. 

The doctor’s left the door open, but that didn’t stop Waverly from asking her questions. She turned her head to her sister. Wynonna was shifting uncomfortably on her feet,

trying to avoid her sister. “What’s wrong with you? I’m the one lying in the hospital bed. Also, who got me out of my apartment?”

“I did.” Waverly snapped her head back to the door and was greeted by a soft, warm smile, and even softer brown eyes. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to startle you. May I?” Nicole pointed into the room and Waverly nodded her head. Slowly taking in the maroon t-shirt and loose fitting jeans. Both covered in black, including Nicole’s beautiful face and red hair. 

“Did you roll in the dirt?” Wynonna questioned. She looked at her girlfriend and rubbed her arm where Rosita pinched her. “What?” Waverly vaguely heard her sister say. 

Nicole chuckled lightly. “I’m covered in soot. I haven’t gone home to clean up, yet. I came straight here after I got the all-clear from my captain.”

Waverly couldn’t help but stare at Nicole. Did she hear Nicole correctly? Nicole saved her? Wasn’t she at home unboxing Mount Everest? Waverly could have sworn that was what her earlier texts from Nicole said that morning. “How- you saved me? What about Chrissy? She was with me? How is she? Is she okay?”

“Whoa, hey, Waverly, it’s okay. Everyone made it out safe. Chrissy is right down the hall and she’s doing fine. I saw her dad coming in and he didn’t want to intrude while the doctor was in here. Said Chrissy will be released soon...” Nicole rubbed at the back of her neck. “And yes, I was the one who saved you.” 

“Thank you for that.” Rosita spoke up; Acutely aware of the tension building in the room. 

Nicole made no move to reply to Rosita. Her focus was strictly on Waverly and Waverly only. 

Waverly hesitated before asking her next question. Afraid of what the answer might be. “And Shorty’s?” 

“The fire department got there in time to save the bar, but um… the apartments- the vacant one is a total loss and yours… it’s best that you find another place to stay for a little while.”

A deep sigh left Waverly’s lips. “Wait!” Her eyes widened at the realization at what Nicole said and what it meant for her apartment. “What about everything on my desk? My writing!”

She watched as Nicole swallowed heavily and avoided eye contact with her. “Uh…” Waverly’s shoulders dropped in disappointment. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So where do you think Waverly is gonna stay?


	6. Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wynonna has a big mouth. Even when she isn’t in the room. 
> 
> And Waverly gets a little jealous

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because Wynonna has a big mouth, we get to see a little bit of Waverly’s past while going to the one place she hasn’t been to in years. 
> 
> And we all know what place that is!

The release-form papers were signed, and the room seemed a bit colder. Waverly glanced back at the door for what felt like the hundredth time, hoping Nicole would return. The warmth of Nicole’s dimpled smile made Waverly’s body feel hotter. It was a strange sensation. Not once in her life had she ever felt butterflies in her stomach or a simple smile, turn her into a puddle. There was something about Nicole that Waverly wished she could figure out. 

“Are you expecting someone?” Wynonna’s sarcastic tone rang in Waverly’s ears. 

Waverly huffed. “No.” The tips of her ears warmed at being caught. “I should head to the apartment. Collect clothes and whatever else I can save.” 

Nicole had informed her that the fire was started by a cigarette or a joint not properly put out. When the fire department arrived, the fire hydrant took longer than necessary to pump water into the hose, causing even more damage than the firefighters would have liked. 

“Do you want any help?” 

“Are you going to tell me what’s bothering you? Wait- you and Rosita aren’t fighting are you?” Waverly questioned, worrying her bottom lip. She had never seen her sister be as happy with anyone else but Rosita and hated the idea that the two could be at odds with each other. 

“I just want you to be happy.” Wynonna blurted. 

Waverly crossed her arms. “Because that’s not ominous at all. Just tell me, Wynonna. Whatever it is, I can hand-.” 

“That hot firefighter you’ve been crushing on could be dating someone.” Wynonna rushed out, cutting off Waverly. 

All the air in the room stilled. Waverly felt the urge to scratch her skin for how uncomfortably itchy it became. Had Wynonna just said that? Was Nicole just leading her on? 

“Wh-I-she… Can you drop me off at the apartment?” She snapped. “I just remembered my Jeep isn’t here?” 

Wynonna nodded her head. “Sure, baby girl. Let’s see how much damage is done.” 

Waverly grabbed her things and left the hospital with her sister in tow. Her mind spinning with every step she took. One question bothered her, though. 

There was something going on between them? 

Wasn’t there? 

  
  


**…**

  
  


Black scorch marks plastered across the walls. Momentos ruined from the smoke and fire. Waverly dragged her finger along her laptop, letting out a long sigh. A whole new meaning to her computer being fried. Never once had she thought of it in a literal sense. 

The notebooks that sat neatly in a pile looked as if someone only wanted to burn half the books. A pile of ash laid in the wake of burned papers. Waverly stared at her once treasured possession. It would cost hundreds of dollars to replace everything that stood in front of her. All of her writing, thanks to google docs, was saved. As long as she remembered the password she changed a month ago. Gus told her to have a password book or to save it somewhere on her phone. Waverly thought it was old school and now regretted thinking that. 

She ran a finger along the desk. Waverly’s most treasured possession that couldn’t be replaced. The sentimental value was worth more. She didn’t want to think about that. Not now. Not when Chrissy was outside loading up her car with boxes. 

A small huff bubbled up in Waverly’s mouth, and she let it out through her nose. Chrissy was a force of nature and didn’t take no for an answer, especially with helping people. Waverly felt horrible that Chrissy got sent to the hospital. She felt as if it were her fault that ended up with smoke inhalation. Her best friend reminded her she wasn’t the one who stupidly left a burning cigarette behind. 

Waverly blinked hard and glanced to the other side of the apartment. The empty bookshelf still stood untouched from all the chaos that disturbed the other portion of her place. It was a miracle Shortys wasn’t burnt to the ground. Waverly made a mental note to bake some goods for the fire department as a thank you. 

Tears pricked at the back of Waverly’s eyes. Nothing seemed to go right for her. Glory Hole and now Shortys. Her writing got caught up in the crossfire, literally. Winding up the hospital from smoke inhalation. The worst part was hearing Wynonna tell her about some woman clinging onto Nicole like her life depended on it. How it looked intimate, and it seemed Nicole knew the woman. It hurt thinking Nicole might have been playing her and stringing the other woman along. Waverly didn’t want to believe that Nicole was a player, but truth be told, she hardly knew the woman. 

Her stomach twisted into knots as every interaction played through Waverly’s mind like a stop-motion video. 

The lingering touches. Long glances. The flirting. The almost kiss that took place a week ago. There was no way Nicole was stringing her along. And if she was, what was Nicole gaining? Another notch on a bedpost? 

Waverly liked to pride herself on being an excellent judge of character. Thinking she had misjudged Nicole because her feelings got in the way made her feel even worse. Nicole was sweet and kind and hung onto every word Waverly had to say. 

Was she just being used? 

She ran to the bathroom and fell to the floor. Her head towering over the toilet as the contents of her stomach left her body. Waverly leaned back once she was done, but kept her eyes closed. Opening them meant facing reality, and at some point, she’d have to speak to Nicole. Purgatory is a small town, and avoiding her really wasn’t an option. 

A loud ping sounded off in the small living room area. Waverly opened her eyes then, taking in the view. She forgot the bathroom, took a hit from the fire. The back walls were slowly crumbling down while the others were chard. She flushed the toilet, thankful that she could, and got up off the floor. Everything that was deemed important was grabbed and placed into a box by the door. 

The cell phone went off again and Waverly reluctantly walked over to it. She assumed it was Wynonna telling her to stay at her and Rosita’s place near Glory Hole. As much as she appreciated the offer, there was no way she was staying in a house where she’d get no sleep. Waverly loved her sister, but listening to Wynonna have sex and possibly walking in on them was not on her to-do list. Ever. 

There were two options to where Waverly could stay. Wynonna’s or Gus’s. Wynonna’s place was out of the question, and Gus already had Rachel sleeping in the spare bedroom. Intruding didn’t sit right with her. Gus would tell her she wasn’t. ‘There’s always a place for you here,’ Gus would say. 

Another message spread across the phone. Waverly was right. Wynonna. 

**Nonna** : _If you won’t stay with me. Stay with Gus. She won’t mind your couch surfing there._

**Nonna** : _Just let me know what you decide. I don’t want to be finding out from Gus that you went to stay at homestead instead_. 

The homestead? Waverly hadn’t thought about her old childhood home in years. Not that she wanted to. There were more terrible memories than good ones, and Waverly never dreamed about going back. Would it be so bad to check it out? Is it as run down as everyone else says it is? 

“Hey, Wave.” Chrissy walked through the door. “My trunk is almost full. Those books of yours took up the most space.” She joked. “You okay?” 

Waverly turned to her best friend. Chrissy had two small white pieces of tape over a scratch from falling because of smoke inhalation. “Uh, yea. I’m fine. Just Wynonna pushing me for an answer on where I’m staying.” 

“You know, daddy won’t mind you staying with us. We both know he’s a teddy bear under all that gruff. Also, don’t tell him I said that.” 

“I’m the sheriff, people need to believe I’m serious and if they think I’m scary too, then more power to me.” Waverly mimicked. 

Chrissy started laughing. Waverly joining in soon after. “You almost sounded just like him this time.” 

“I try my best.” Waverly took a few more steadying breaths before continuing. “I appreciate the offer, Chris. I do.” 

“But you don’t want to feel you’re putting us out of house and home, right?” 

Waverly nodded. “Wynonna gave me an idea. Though I don’t think-”

Her phone went off again. 

**Nonna** : _Don’t you dare do what I think you’re gonna do!!_

A smile pulled at Waverly’s lips. She lifted her cell and shook it. “And there it is. Nonna realizing her mistake!” 

Chrissy’s smile dropped. “Oh, no. You wouldn’t.” 

**…**

  
  


“You would.” Waverly heard her best friend say from behind her. She suppressed the laugh that threatened to spill from her mouth. Chrissy needed to take her more seriously. 

Waverly climbed up the stairs before stopping. She took a few deep breaths, calming her nerves. It had been years since she last stepped foot into the house. One good wind storm and would likely collapse. That’s what it seemed like, anyway. Waverly wasn’t a carpenter, she was a writer. She could write about fixing things, but being the one to hold the hammer was out of her element. 

The top hinge let go as the door pushed open. Waverly cringed at the rust crusted on the nails. Glancing around the living room, she noticed the house was left as it was the night they took her to Gus and Curtis’s. Memories of that night flood her mind. The arguing. The screaming. The blood spilled. The bruises left in their wake. Horrible scenes played through her mind. Scenes Waverly wished weren’t real. 

Her eyes shifted over to the doorway to the kitchen. Better, less horrific, memories lied there. Baking cookies, flour clinging to clothing, laughter filling the air. Life was better, simpler, and far happier when in the kitchen. It was Sanctuary for everyone who lived there. Besides him; besides daddy. He made sanctuary’s feel invaded and suffocating. He sucked all the life out of the room the moment he walked into them. Ward Earp was an evil man and held too much power behind the badge. 

“God, it’s like a memorial here.” Chrissy spoke as she entered the living room. Waverly watched her run a finger across the coffee table. “Only difference is, no one keeps it clean.” 

“It’s disturbing, I know.” Waverly squeaked out. “Do you think the well is still working or dried up?” 

“With this heat and lack of rain, a good possibility of no water. You’ll be hard pressed to dig up another well with plans of getting water. It’ll be like striking oil. Only thing saving you is the pond behind this house.” 

“Good point. Think the drought is the reason the hydrant took so long to fill the hose to extinguish the fire at Shortys?” 

Silence filled the air. She assumed her best friend nodded or wasn’t interested in talking about the fire. Not that Waverly blamed her. Chrissy came out of it with a scratch on her head and possibly nightmares. Waking up in a hospital could do that to a person. Waverly basically ended up homeless and lost what she loved most and had to magically find the money to replace it all. 

The homestead was… intact. Multiple repairs were needed but not unlivable. Waverly started making a list of things she knew that needed replacement or repairs, at the top of the list was finding a decent contractor to help her out. Lord knows Wynonna didn't know an ounce of carpentry. Glory Hole earned decent money and the insurance the club collected for the fire helped pay for the repairs. Wynonna was nowhere in sight when work was being done. Ironically, neither was Rosita. 

Upstairs looked better than downstairs. Looks were deceiving. Waverly jotted down more notes than started thinking about all the local carpenters that lived in Purgatory. Would any of them be willing to help her out as a favor? How much was it going to cost her to fix up the Homestead? Was her childhood home worth the aggravation? Would it be easier to find another apartment versus spending money trying to fix up a home with so many terrible memories? 

There were so many questions that Waverly didn’t know the answers to and desperately wished she did. She hated not knowing. Every fiber in her being lived on knowing things most people didn’t. Like ancient history and dead languages and E = mc2. Waverly hadn’t felt that unnerved since having to give her valedictorian speech for her high school graduation. It was daunting and terrifying, and making her wish living in a hole in the ground was acceptable. Then again, Waverly was an Earp. People might assume she went crazy.

“No.” Waverly said to herself, shaking her head of the absurd thoughts racing through her mind.

A soft knock on the wall caused Waverly to jump. “Jesus!” She squeaked. 

“Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you.” 

Waverly spun on her heels at the voice. Her eyes widened at the sight of the one person she didn’t expect to see leaning against her door frame. Red hair falling to her shoulders, muscles bulging out from under the heather-grey t-shirt, relax fitting jeans that shaped her hips perfectly. No one should look that good. Waverly quickly cleared her throat, her face heating from embarrassment when she noticed the smirk across the firefighter's face. “Ni-Nicole.” 

“Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you. Chrissy let us in.” Nicole uncrossed her arms and pointed behind her. 

Did Waverly hear Nicole correctly? Nicole used a plural word. As in, she didn’t come to the homestead alone. Another thought then came to Waverly. How did Nicole know she was there? Before Waverly could ask, a tall blacked haired woman with dark creamy skin walked up behind Nicole. 

“Nice rustic place. A little rough around the edges, but beautiful over all. Are you thinking about renovating it?” 

Nicole poked at the woman’s arm, giving her a stern look, then looked at Waverly. “Waverly, this is Shae.” 

Waverly felt her heart stop and stomach turn. Maybe living in the ground wasn’t a bad idea. 

Shae was stunning. A goddess even. She looked as though Michaelangelo sculpted her. Why did this stranger have to be so beautiful? Waverly wanted the earth to swallow her whole in that moment. Everything about this woman had Waverly question everything in her life. 

Her stupid, flawless skin. Her stupid, beautiful face. Her stupid, amazing body that Waverly definitely wasn’t checking out. No, Waverly hated this woman, and she didn’t even know her. She had to be the woman Wynonna saw clinging onto Nicole earlier. Shae matched Wynonna’s description. Sculpted boobs and skin that looked good enough to eat whip cream off of. Waverly tried not to shiver at the thought of Nicole doing that to this woman. 

“Um, hi?” Waverly flinched at the sound of her own voice. It was higher than she expected. “You uh. Um… must be Nicole’s… um?” She stopped, not knowing how to proceed. Waverly looked at Nicole expectedly. 

“Oh! Shae is my best friend. She’s visiting from Calgary for the weekend.” 

Friend? Nicole said best friend. That was good news, right? “You’re um… you two are…” Waverly pointed between them, willing her brain to process faster. 

A sly smirk came across Shae’s face. “Are friends, yes. Though Nicole is cute, I’m not a fan of redheads. Too wild for my taste.” She teased. “Also, I see Nicole more of a sister than girlfriend material.” 

Waverly let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding. The hug that Wynonna witnessed wasn’t in an intimate gesture, but a ‘I’m glad you are okay and I’ll kill you if you ever do that again,’ sisterly kind of way. The same hug Waverly gave Wynonna the night Glory Hole caught on fire. 

“That’s great! I-I mean,” Way to go, numb nuts. “Great, that you have someone who cares not great you two aren’t together. I’m just gonna shut up now.” Waverly’s face burned in embarrassment. She wondered if someone cracked an egg over her head, if it would boil because her face was on fire. 

Her embarrassment worsened as the other two started chuckling. Where was Chrissy when she needed her? “What brings you two to the homestead?” Waverly rushed out. 

The room stilled, awkward and almost suffocating. Waverly stared at the two women and had one question circling in her mind.

_How did they know where to find me_?

  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next weeks chapter will be fun. You’ll get to see Nicole be a useless panicky gay and two unlikely pair of friends gang up on to useless gay idiots. 
> 
> I’m also trying to write the next chapter of ‘ATYH’ so I can post that soon and by try, I mean I’m trying to focus on writing and not Greys Anatomy. 
> 
> So, yea. There’s that. Lol
> 
> Also, I started to actually plot this out and because of that, these chapters are getting longer. I hope you all are okay with that?


	7. Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nicole is a gay mess. Waverly is too. Also, Chrissy and Shae are the best!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's watch Nicole panic, shall we?
> 
> Also, I dipped my toes back into the smut world, very briefly towards the end there. Have fun!

The awkward silence played on longer than Nicole would have liked. It felt like hours had passed and reality was; it was only a minute. The longest sixty seconds of her life. She fought fires. Ran straight for them without a second fleeting thought. Saved the girl she had been crushing on a few hours ago, and now she didn’t know a single English word. 

Shae didn’t help the equation either. Her best friend's bold choice of words was going to get Nicole in trouble. Nicole really didn’t want to know what it was like on the receiving end of Waverly’s anger. The woman may be small, but she seemed like the feisty type. Not that Nicole found that sexy or anything.  _ Deep breaths, and stop thinking about how sexy Waverly is, moron. Don’t need a hard on while trying to be nice to her _ . 

“The homestead?” Shae piped up. Nicole was grateful for the distraction. 

“Family nickname that’s been around for almost a century. Excuse me.” Chrissy came barging into the room, a smirk clear across her face when she scared the two women at the door with her presence.

“I didn’t even hear you walk up the stairs.” Nicole stared wide-eyed at Chrissy. 

“She’s sheriff Nedley’s daughter. Being a ninja just comes by naturally.” Waverly playfully smiled at the blonde.

Nicole watched the interaction between them. She knew Chrissy was Waverly’s best friend. If she hadn’t, seeing them together would have been painful. Nicole would have bolted and accepted that the girl she liked didn’t like her back and was in a relationship. 

_ But _ . Waverly wasn’t in a relationship. She wasn’t seeing anyone that Nicole knew of and most importantly, Chrissy was her friend. Nicole needed to up her game if she was going to have a chance at dating Waverly. 

“Family nickname? This house belongs to you then?” Nicole glanced at Waverly and saw the fear in her eyes. She knew what question Shae was about to ask, and it looked like Waverly was hoping it wasn’t said. “Why abandon a perfectly suitable home?” 

A flinch. Nicole saw Waverly flinch. Which meant that question had more history surrounding it than the town of Purgatory. A single tear slowly ran down Waverly’s cheek, and Nicole wanted to reach out to wipe it away. Instead, she elbowed Shae in the ribs and glanced over at Waverly and hoped her best friend caught on before saying anything else. Shae’s mouth opened as the realization settled. 

“I’m sorry. I tend to speak before thinking. Terrible and mildly offensive habit to have as a surgeon.” 

Waverly took a deep breath. “You speak a language that only people with medical knowledge understand, then have to repeat what it means in a simpler way that scares the snot out of them. You must have fantastic bedside manners?” She chuckled. 

Nicole smirked. Waverly understood Shae better than most people. She felt a nudge and looked over to Shae. “I like her.” Shae whispered. “Okay.” She clapped her hands and eyed the bedroom and glanced down the hallway. 

“So this place is yours, and it clearly needs repairs. I don’t mean to put my nose in your business, but are you staying here during the repairs? Nicole mentioned on our way over that your apartment caught on fire and now that I think about it, Nicole here,” Shae slapped her hand down on Nicole’s shoulders. “Has a spare bedroom that isn’t being used.” 

_ Running into fires _ , Nicole said over and over like a mantra in her head. Nicole had to remind herself again that she was fearless and not on the verge of strangling her best friend. Finding Waverly wasn’t supposed to go this way. She wanted to see how Waverly was doing since seeing the apartment and wanted to know if she could help her. Offering the spare bedroom wasn’t on her radar for multiple reasons. Shae knew those reasons, and yet her friend magically had foot-in-mouth syndrome. 

There was enough land surrounding the homestead. Dropping a body off in the middle of woods could go unnoticed. No! Nicole shook her head to rid those thoughts. She couldn’t do that to her best friend. Even though she really wished she could.

“Oh, um… I wouldn’t want to intr-”

“I think that’s a wonderful idea!” Chrissy cut off Waverly. Smiling widely at the smaller woman. Nicole could tell that there was a silent conversation going on between them and secretly wondered what those looks meant. 

“I agree.” Shae nodded and smirked at Nicole. “Don’t you think so, Nicole?”

  
  


...

  
  


The first step through the threshold was always a breath of fresh air. Nicole could detox from work and focus on anything that wasn’t being surrounded by testosterone. The captain filled most days with training exercises and cleaning the firehouse while checking equipment. Her house was where Nicole could relax and pretend life didn’t exist outside the four walls she called home. 

Now? The front door haunted her. Bad things were about to happen behind that door. Like a Stephen King novel, Nicole’s life was about to become filled with horror. 

Waverly Earp was moving in with her. 

Having Waverly in her home wasn’t a bad thing. No, not at all. It came boiling down to having to be discrete inside her own home. A place where Nicole could casually walk around in her underwear and not worry about any roommates. A place where she could let off steam in any room of her house and not get yelled at because her moans were too loud. 

Waverly Earp was staying with Nicole in the same house Nicole had jacked off in while thinking about her.  _ And that’s just the tip of the iceberg _ , Nicole thought. 

“The kitchen is through that walkway,” Nicole tilted her chin then placed a box down on the couch. “And the bedrooms are upstairs. Oh, and that door right there, it’s a half bath, not a closet.” 

“Sounds like there’s a story.” Waverly joked. 

“I’m no storyteller, but I hear you're pretty great.” Nicole smiled, her dimples popping out. 

“Smooth and charming.” Waverly sat the box she was carrying down beside the other one. “I’m not much of a writer now, anyway. Everything that I worked so hard on is gone now… and there’s a chance I might not have access to it on Google Doc because I can’t remember my Google account password.” 

“I’m sorry to hear that, Wave. How much was written?” Nicole turned around, walked outside, Waverly close behind her. “Sorry, is that incentive?” 

Waverly chuckled. “No. My most recent work doesn’t have much. A few chapters at most. It’s mostly rough ideas that I need to help shape the story. Like characters and location outlines.”

“If I ask what this new story is about, will you tell me?” She lifted a box filled with books. Nicole took every box out of Chrissy’s car and placed them in the bed of her truck. It felt ridiculous to have multiple cars stacked with boxes go to her house, when she could load everything up in the back of her vehicle. 

If Nicole had been looking at Waverly, she would have noticed the bright red blush Waverly was trying to hide. 

“If I uh, if I told you, then I’d have to kill you.” 

“Ouch. Must be one killer of a story then.” 

“Cute.” 

“Yes, you are.” Nicole mumbled under her breath. “I’ll bring this box of books upstairs and I can show you the bedroom you’ll be in.” she tried her best not to sound nervous. This was the part Nicole was dreading most. 

By the top of the stairs, Nicole was sweating, and it wasn’t from the heaviness of the books. Her firefighting gear weighed the same as that box. The box sat next to the door, next to one that Nicole hadn’t gotten to yet when Shae was helping her earlier that morning. She prayed Waverly wouldn’t say anything about the room. 

“Nicole.” Waverly stopped beside her. “This is your room.”  _ Well, so much for her not noticing _ .

“I’m aware.” Nicole exited her room and tried not to sound tense. 

“Shae said you had… why would she say you have a spare room when you don’t? Where are you going to sleep?” 

“On the couch.”  _ Far away from you so I don’t get a major hard-on thinking about you sleeping in my bed _ , Nicole thought. There was no way Nicole was going to say that out loud, especially since Waverly didn’t know about her  _ little friend _ .  _ Definitely not little _ .

“What? I’m not taking your bed. How I see it, we have two options.” 

Nicole froze at the top of the stairs, hand clenching the hand railing.  _ Please don’t say it. For the love of god, please don’t say it _ . 

“Option one, I sleep on the couch and you don’t try convincing me otherwise or two: we share the bed. It’s big enough for the both of us.” 

_ And there it is _ , Nicole cursed inside her head. Sleeping next to the Waverly, though sounded like a wonderful idea, was a terrible idea. She’d rather sleep on the couch but knew from the strong authoritative voice behind her meant she would not argue. 

“Option two but I have some stipulations.” 

Nicole missed the wide smile that spread across Waverly’s face. 

…

  
  


All the boxes Waverly had sat in the room that was supposed to be hers if Nicole had a bed in there. Shae and her big mouth and always budding into her love life. Not that Nicole really had a love life. Living in a cave and shielding herself from a heartbreak was more Nicole’s style. Telling her secret about what hung between her legs was difficult and didn’t want to explain herself multiple times. Not if that woman would not stick around and be supportive or not make her feel uncomfortable about having a penis. Shae was the only person who didn’t make Nicole feel like a freak. 

Shae and her uncle Ricky, that is. 

A sad sigh left Nicole’s lips. She missed her uncle. Her hand rubbed at the tattoo along her collarbone and looked up. The reflection looking back at her looked drained, had grey bags hanging under their eyes, and red veins beginning to form in the corner of their eyes. That person looked sleep deprived. Nicole sighed again and placed her hands on the bathroom sink. Sleep was calling her name and Nicole couldn’t wait to lie down and pass out for the night. Then she remembered that her bed was being occupied by another person. 

Not how she imagined getting Waverly Earp into bed with her. 

Nicole was nervous as a patient, waiting for the doctors to tell them bad news. Her body shook like a leaf in the wind. She needed to calm herself down before entering the bedroom. Despite Waverly not knowing her very well, the woman lying in her bed would instantly know that something was off with her.

Cold water filled the palms of her hands before meeting her face. Nicole grabbed the towel hanging off the railing and dried her face off. The cold shower she took wasn’t enough to bring the edge off. She had a long night ahead of her. 

Before opening the bathroom room, Nicole took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.  _ I will not get morning wood. I will not get morning wood _ . Nicole whispered, saying it as a mantra, and prayed her brain would listen. Explaining her medical history and possibly being body shamed was not something Nicole wanted to do with the girl she had a crush on so early in the morning. 

Nicole stopped dead in her tracks at the sight before her. Waverly laid on her back, propped up against the pillows, and ankles crossed while reading. She was wearing a pink tank top and light pink sleep shorts that had red, teals, and grey butterflies printed all over it. Tan smooth skin was all Nicole could focus on. The shorts barely covered Waverly’s ass, and all that Nicole could see was tan skin. Nicole began breathing deeply and thought about puppies and kittens. Anything that wasn’t Waverly’s exposed skin or her lying on her bed. 

“You okay over there?” Waverly asked, her voice playful, but had a hint of concern too. 

Nicole snapped her head towards Waverly’s face and gave what she hoped was a smile but was probably more of a grimace. “Um, yeah. I’m fine.”  _ I’m trying not to pop a boner from all the exposed skin that is laying bare for me to see and trying not to think about everything I want to do to you. So, yeah, I’m fine _ . 

“You know, you never answered my question earlier.” Waverly said, placing her bookmark between the pages and sat her book down in her lap. 

Nicole was grateful for the distraction. “Which question was that?” She leaned against the doorframe and crossed her arms. Curious to know what question Waverly was talking about. 

“How did you know where to find me?” 

“Ah, yes. That question.” Nicole rubbed at the back of her neck, shyly. “I went back to Shortys after leaving the station to see if you needed any help to move your things. Your aunt and uncle were in the bar and told me where you were.” 

“Right.” Waverly nodded but Nicole wasn’t sure if it was to her or if Waverly was nodding to herself. 

“What are you reading?” Nicole asked. She walked over to the other side of bed and crawled in. 

“A Walk to Remember.” 

“Nicholas Sparks. I’ve seen the movies but have read none of his books. Is this the first book of his you’ve read?” 

“No. This is the third. I’m reading them in chronological order in which they’ve been published.” 

“And how many books has Sparks published?” 

“Twenty-one so far.” 

“Impressive. Do you write romance?” 

Nicole smirked at the slight blush dusting Waverly’s cheeks. “I’m still not answering those questions.” 

“Can’t blame a girl for trying.” Nicole smiled wide, her dimples becoming craters. “I’ll uh, leave you alone with Jamie and Landon then.” She turned off her bedside light and slid down the bed.

The moment Nicole got comfortable on her side, she became very hyper aware of how she slept. Nicole always ended up in the middle of the bed by morning. It never mattered where or how she fell asleep, she just worked her way there. A part of Nicole wanted to be fine with Waverly sleeping next to her, but Waverly didn’t  _ know _ about her. At least Nicole didn’t think so. They talked about what happened at Shortys a few weeks ago. It was almost a silent agreement between them, they’d never bring it back up. Not unless Nicole wanted to, or if Waverly asked. Even then, what brought Nicole to the restroom became the elephant in the room every time they were together. Nicole didn’t want to bring up, and she honestly felt that Waverly respected her choice not to. 

Nicole groaned and sat up some. She reached behind her head and grabbed the second pillow that was there. It hurt her to do this, but it was the logical and respectful thing to do. Nicole placed the pillow between them and said, “I’m sorry. You may not think it’s necessary, but I move around a lot in my sleep. I’m hoping the pillow will stop me from doing so and invading your space.”  _ And stop me from poking you with my dick in the middle of the night _ , Nicole wanted to add but thought best of it. That wasn’t how Nicole wanted to tell Waverly about her… girl penis? 

“Oh uh, okay… I can go sleep on the couch if that makes you more comfortable,” Waverly pointed towards the door. 

The sheets rustled as Nicole turned her body to look at Waverly better. “Waves, we went over this earlier. If anyone is sleeping on that couch, it’s me. You are my guest and that couch is shitty as hell and will kill your back. I’d rather suffer with the back pain than you having a restless night because you can’t get comfortable on that thing.” 

“Okay.” Waverly placed her book on the nightstand and turned off the light. Once she was comfortable in bed, she let out a content sigh. “Good night, Nicole.” 

Nicole smiled at the sight before her, then followed suit. Her back was facing Waverly and tried to be as close to the edge of the bed without falling off. It was ridiculous, but Nicole felt it was better to play it safe. “Goodnight, Waverly.”

  
  


**∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞**

  
  


_ “Oh god!” Waverly moaned. “That feels so good.”  _

_ Waverly coiled her hands in red hair and pulled. A low, muffled groan filled her ears. Her legs were parted and draped over defined shoulders, her heels digging into a muscular back. Green eyes opened and met brown ones staring at her. She was going to die a pleasurable death, and Waverly couldn’t be happier. _

_ The redhead’s tongue circled her clit, then dipped down to her entrance. Diving her tongue in as far as it could go and repeated the action a few times before latching onto Waverly’s clit.  _

_ “Oh fuck! Nicole!” _

Waverly’s eyes snapped open and immediately shut from the sun shining through the window. She took deep breaths to calm her racing heart. Her dream, what she remembered of it, left an ache and unmistakable wetness between her thighs. 

A sigh left her lips. Why were dreams so catastrophic? Why did she have to have a sex dream about Nicole while sleeping in  _ her _ bed? Why couldn’t something else wake her up? Oh, right! 

Since the day Waverly was born, she had been a heavy sleeper. Fireworks could go off next to her ear and not wake her up. Certain sounds woke her up, though. She never understood it, and neither could anyone else that knew Waverly well. 

It made one-night stands easier to flee in the middle of the night and not disturb her. Not that Waverly had many one-night stands. She had two, and that was enough in her books. Sleeping around with people she didn’t know bothered Waverly. To her, dating was better. Lust was great, but love was more substantial. 

The morning sun glimmered across the bed, shining on Waverly’s face. Her hand reached out to grab an extra pillow instead in soft short hair. She opened her eyes and was greeted by a large orange fluff ball lying on top of Nicole’s pillow. 

Waverly searched her sleep clouded brain for any memory that told her who the invader was. Cute, but not the redhead she was hoping to wake up next to. “Calamity.” She whispered when the name finally popped in her head. Nicole told her about having a cat that did disappearing acts during the day and suffocated her at night. This was the first time Waverly had met the infamous Calamity Jane. She ran her fingers through the soft fine hairs, igniting a purr from the tiny beast. 

After a few minutes, Waverly rolled over and grabbed her phone. Her eyes adjusted to the bright screen and noticed the time. Stupid sun. It was just after seven in the morning. Waverly enjoyed sleeping in, but after yesterday, she understood why her body woke up. Though the bed she was lying in was comfortable, like sleeping on a cloud, it wasn’t her own bed. 

“Where’s the other, no offense, better looking redhead?” Waverly asked the sleeping cat. “Right.” Her sleep aided mind told her that Calamity would not respond anytime soon. Didn’t hurt to try, though. 

Instead of meeting a cold wooden floor, Waverly’s feet slid into unicorn slippers. They were a gift from Wynonna shortly after she had come out to her. They were thankfully untouched from the fire. She slowly made her way downstairs and stopped midway. Peering over at the couch, Waverly saw bare feet hanging over the armrest. Nicole was fast asleep on the couch. Nicole left the bed at some point last night. Why, though, was what Waverly wanted to know. Had she crossed a line in her sleep? Nicole had informed her she had a habit of tossing and turning during the night. Had Nicole waited until she was asleep to move to the couch out of respect? A soft smile graced Waverly’s face. Only Nicole would surrender her bed to a friend in need. 

Friend. Waverly hated that word. Associating the word friend with Nicole didn’t bow well. Oil and water had a better chance of blending together than friend and Nicole. 

The last step creaked, and Waverly seized. She peered one eye open and looked over at Nicole. Asleep. Waverly tiptoed to the kitchen, grateful that the first floor wasn’t an open concept. It took a moment for Waverly to re-familiarize herself with where Nicole placed everything. The one thing that caught her off guard was the pans that Nicole preferred to use. Few people in Purgatory used cast iron; Waverly not being one of them. She did a quick research on them before beginning breakfast. 

“Smells amazing in here.” Waverly whipped around, spatula in one hand, the other hand on her pounding heart. 

“Sweet Jesus, Nicole. Wear a bell or something. Be glad I didn’t throw this at you.” Waverly’s eyes took in Nicole’s appearance and bit her bottom lip. Even though she saw Nicole wearing the shirt and basketball shorts last night, there was something different from seeing her in them now. It might have had something to do with a very distinct outline of what Waverly assumed was what Nicole was trying to hide. It wasn’t her place to mention it and wasn’t about to point it out either in case Nicole got embarrassed. 

“You slept on the couch.” Waverly stated. It was best to talk about something versus getting lost in the dirty thoughts playing in her mind. 

Nicole rubbed the back of her neck. “I uh, yeah. I did. Thought it was best to not kick you out of bed. Literally.” What Waverly didn’t know was that Nicole removed herself from her backside when Nicole ended up spooning her during the night. “You cooked my bacon and made pancakes.”

“It’s the least I can do for stealing your bed  _ and _ staying here while I fix up the homestead until it's safe to live in.” 

“So you’re gonna do it. Fix up your childhood home?”

“I am. The house needs new memories. I want to be the one who does that.”  _ Not sure how to do that by myself or with little money, but I will do it _ ! 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright everyone! If you don't read my Medieval fic, or haven't read the latest update, then this message will be news to you.
> 
> I'll be focusing on my Medieval fic until November. Once the new month starts, I'll be tabling my other fic's due to NaNoWriMo. I won't participating in it, but I will be using that time to focus on my Murder Mystery fic to edit and add more. My goal to start posting my Murder Mystery by the beginning of 2021 and have my Medieval fic finish by the end of the year. 
> 
> So until next chapter! Peace!


	8. Eight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big shout out to Bo Blackwood who changed the course of this chapter. The reveal of Nicole's true self was much different than what is written. I loved their idea so much and knew it was the right decision to use for these particular scene. 
> 
> So, the second half of this chapter is for you, buddy! Thanks for the suggestion! 
> 
> Another shout out to all of you who are supporting me. It means a lot to me. To everyone who are familiar with my works, my stories are written to have meanings behind them. Much like 'And Then You Happened.' When you reach the end the of this chapter, you'll see what I mean.

Waiting. Long torturous minutes. She glanced down at her watch. Make that an hour and a half. How could a contractor take an hour and a half to give her an estimate on how much it would cost to fix the homestead? _A Walk to Remember_ , sat untouched next to her on the steps; she finished the book thirty minutes ago. Tears shed had long since dried. 

Time continued to tick on. Waverly needed a quote. She hated losing precious time that could be spent on researching supplies or materials needed to build. Were they going to tell her that her childhood home was a lost cause? Did Waverly want to hear that? Was she expecting to find somewhere else to live? Did Waverly even want to live in her childhood home that was filled with such terrible memories? 

Her childhood, though tame compared to others, was still horrible. Her father, Ward, was the worst. Demon described him perfectly. Waverly’s mother, Michelle, was an angel in the ground. At least that’s what she’s been told. Wynonna and her oldest sister, Willa, didn’t believe it either. Michelle loved her daughters more than anything. It made little sense when Ward told them she drove off a cliff. She wouldn’t up and leave her daughters behind with a dangerous man like Ward Earp. 

That was why Willa took off at the first chance she could. Willa promised to find mama and bring her home. That was years ago. The last time they heard from Willa, she was somewhere on the east coast of the U.S; steadily making her way towards Europe. 

The creaky staircase caught Waverly’s attention, bringing her back from the past. She realized hearing the creaks of the stairs from the outside, added two more items to the list of things to fix. Waiting for the front door to open felt like forever. The person doing the walk-through could have learned every inch of her past in that time he was gone. 

The door finally opened, and a tall, slender man stepped out. His tan work-boots stuck out like a sore thumb. The black jeans and navy shirt did little to bring out the blue in his eyes. The salt and pepper hair did a better job than the clothes. “There’s much to be done in this ancient home.” Waverly frowned at the man. 

“What took you so long?” Waverly demanded. 

The man pointed his thumb over his shoulder. “Ask her!” His wife stepped out from behind and came into view. 

“Gus, I told you not to go through everything. You’re supposed to be looking over the house.” Waverly whined. 

“I’m not a contractor, your uncle is. I handle the money part of the business. That’s how it used to be before he got hurt.” Gus scowled at her husband. “He has a list of things that need fixin’. Now, your uncle can get you a great deal down at the lumberyard. If you choose to fix this place up.” 

Waverly frowned at the comment. Her aunt didn’t intentionally hit the insecurity she had about the house. Fixing, it was going to be a project. One with many bumps along the way. A huge wait would be lifted if Waverly just forgave the man for what happened. For how he treated her so poorly. She didn’t even realize she was holding a grudge for so long until she entered the homestead for the first time yesterday.

Did she really want to fix up the homestead? Did she want to spend money on a house that made her mildly uncomfortable? Could she let go of her past and build new, happier memories in the house that made her feel so forgotten? There came a point when Waverly wondered if she was wearing the invisibility cloak from Harry Potter. My childhood wasn’t the best, but it wasn't the worst, she reminded herself. 

“I’ll think about the offer. Thank you aunt Gus, uncle Curtis, for taking the time to come out here. I know it wasn’t on the list of things you wanted to do today.” 

“Nonsense. You need a place to live and can’t stay at Nicole’s forever.” 

_ Now there’s an idea! No! No. Nicole was a... friend. _ A friend Waverly wanted to kiss and touch and do very unfriend things to. Very naughty and very sexy things too.  _ Mind out of the gutter, pervert.  _

“Uncle Curtis, see what kind of deal you can get me, and I’ll go from there.” I need time to think this over properly. Waverly wanted to add but didn’t. The thought of her aunt and uncle questioning her further about the homestead brought shivers down her spine. 

Another hour went by and Waverly was at her favorite spot. Her feet wadded in the water and the sun shined down her face. Heaven, Waverly thought. Listening to the waterfall gave her a sense of calming that she couldn’t get anywhere else. If nothing else could convince her to fix the homestead, this spot would. Waverly hadn’t been to her favorite place in a couple of years, but still loved it. 

She remembered a time when she’d sneak from her aunt and uncle's house to be there. To get away from the arguing Wynonna and Gus did. The waterfall became a safe place. Even for Chrissy. Before the sheriff Nedley’s divorce, Chrissy endured enough screaming matches to live a lifetime. At the first sign of a fight, Chrissy hightailed out of the house and ended up at the McCready’s. They’d leave the ranch and explore the only town they’ve ever known. They stumbled upon the waterfall by accident one day, then later that afternoon, they realized they were on the homestead property. Waverly wouldn’t admit it then, but she went to that spot daily and spent hours writing in her notebooks. The location created the best atmosphere for Waverly to write in.

The rock next to her vibrated, and the song assigned to Nicole’s text messages began playing. 

Haught 🔥👩🏻🚒:  _ What’s the verdict? _

Haught 🔥👩🏻🚒:  _ My offer still stands. If you need any help fixing the place up, just let me know. I’m very good with my hands _ 😉 

A sly smile fell upon Waverly’s face. I bet you are. Waverly typed, then deleted. She knew Nicole was flirting with her. Would it be so bad to flirt back? The deleted words reappeared back in the message box, then the little blue button was pressed. 

Haught 🔥👩🏻🚒:  _ Wouldn’t you like to know _ 😏

Wave:  _ ANYWAY! I’ll let you know if I need your help. _

Not like Wynonna will offer to help, Waverly thought. Wynonna was the last person to offer any help. Her sister disappeared when Glory Hole was getting fixed. Waverly imagined a bunch of construction workers standing around while three of them actually worked. Wynonna would be a part of the group, standing and doing nothing. If Waverly was being honest with herself, Wynonna would magically find whiskey and a lawn chair just to lounge around and watch everyone else do her work. To this day, Waverly still doesn’t know how Wynonna runs her own nightclub. 

She wondered if it had anything to do with Rosita working the bar and Mercedes managing the bookkeeping. 

Haught 🔥👩🏻🚒:  _ Alright then. I won’t be home until later this afternoon. Got some drills to run at the station… _

Haught 🔥👩🏻🚒:  _ So whatever you do, don’t think about me in my turnouts _ 😉😉 

  
  


“Dammit, Nicole!” Waverly groaned. 

  
  


**...**

  
  


Waverly returned to Nicole’s house, exhausted and in a desperate need of a shower. After her aunt and uncle left to tend to the Shorty’s, she checked out the loft of the barn. Looking down at her exposed arms, she wished she hadn’t. Years of caked on dust and spider webs worked its way to Waverly’s skin and arms. From the moment she left the homestead, it felt like something was crawling all over her and it gave her the heebie-jeebies. 

Nicole’s pickup truck wasn’t in the driveway or behind her house. Waverly had checked in case Nicole parked outback for whatever reason. She unlocked the door and slipped off her shoes. The stairway looked dreadful to walk up and for how she felt, crawling up the steps like a baby seemed appropriate. 

After collecting her clothes and pulling the fluffiest towel known to man out of the linen closet, Waverly walked into Nicole’s master bath. It delighted her to remember that Nicole also had an enormous bathtub. Waverly grabbed one of her bath bombs Nicole had surprised her with yesterday as a “welcome gift.” A light blush dusted her cheeks at the thought of Nicole’s generosity and thoughtfulness. 

It didn’t take long for Waverly’s muscles to relax and her exhaustion to seep in. Sometime later, she awoke to noise coming from the bedroom and what sounded a lot like someone crying. Waverly quickly dried off and slipped into her pajamas. When she opened the door, she wasn’t expecting to find an old video playing on the tv and Nicole sitting on the bed with tears running down her face. She wanted to say something or ask what was wrong. Instead, Waverly looked at the tv and watched. 

_ “Okay. Here we go, Nic. Hold your hands here and here. Focus on the square and when you're ready, shoot. Just don’t put too much pressure behind the ball or else you’ll overshoot.” The man on the screen walked to the basketball hoop, continuing to encourage a younger looking Nicole.  _

_ “You got this, Nic!”  _

_ Nicole dribbled the ball twice _ , _ then lined up her shot exactly how the man showed her. The basketball went flying into the air and bounced off the rim, soaring towards the man.  _

_ “Did you see that, Uncle Ricky! I almost made the shot on the first try!”  _

_ “I knew you’d be better at this than me. Give it another try.” Uncle Ricky tossed the ball and Nicole easily caught it. She instantly jumped up, shooting the ball again. The ball whooshed straight through the net.  _

_ “Aaahhh. I did it! I did it, Uncle Ricky!”  _

_ Ricky jogged towards Nicole, a beaming smile across his face, giving her a high-five! “Time to get you signed up for basketball, kid!”  _

The screen went black, and the room filled with the sound of sniffles. Waverly saw Nicole sink into the bed, curling up on herself. She crawled up onto the bed behind Nicole and awkwardly brought her hand around Nicole’s shoulder. Her hand was quickly brought down to Nicole’s chest. 

A few minutes went by, silence filling the air. “I’m here if you want to talk.” Waverly whispered, not wanting to break the bubble they created. 

“I finally remembered why I left that box alone in the spare bedroom.” Nicole sniffled again. “It’s filled with everything my uncle gave me and videos I wanted to remember him by. I had to beg my parents not to delete them after he died.”

“Will you tell me about him… if you want to, that is?”

“He was the reason I became a firefighter. He was my biggest fan. My biggest supporter. If my parents left for their business meetings, my uncle would take me. I’d be with him for weeks at a time while they went on their hippy escapades. 

“Uncle Ricky introduced me to rock climbing at the same time as basketball when I was ten. I was this lengthy, awkward giant. Kids started calling me spidey because my arms and legs were so long. The name unfortunately stuck during basketball.” Nicole sighed at the memory. 

“Anyway…” Nicole continued to talk aimlessly about her uncle while Waverly continued to spoon her. Recalling different events that she found funny or impacted her life. Each story caused Nicole’s smile to grow and grow until her dimples popped out. Waverly couldn’t help but smile as well. Nicole’s love for her uncle felt intoxicating, and Waverly wondered what it would feel like to be loved by Nicole Haught. 

To know that Nicole talked about her in a way only a lover would. For Nicole to put her heart on her sleeve for Waverly’s taking. To cherish it and to love her back. She wanted to know that feeling and it was getting harder and harder for Waverly to keep her own feelings for Nicole at bay. There was something happening between them, Waverly knew that, but taking that plunge was scary.

Waverly blinked, realizing she missed some of what Nicole said. “Uncle Ricky accepted me as intersex when my parents told him.”

The surrounding air became suffocating. Nicole’s body tensed under her fingertips and she could feel goosebumps rising along her skin. Waverly realized what Nicole had admitted and moved so she could see Nicole’s face better. She must have thought Waverly’s movements were an attempt to get away cause Nicole bounded from the bed. 

“I ne-need to go. B-be anywhere but here. ” 

“Go? Nicole, you live here.” 

“I-I ca-can’t be here. I-you- I wasn’t thinking. I-I-I just admitted… I have to go.” Nicole sprinted out of the room. 

“Nicole, wait. Dammit!” Waverly jumped from the bed, chasing after the redhead. She ran down the stairs, heart pounding in her chest at the sight of her disheveled friend. “Nicole, please wait. You said nothing wrong!” 

Nicole stopped at the front door, eyes filled with fear, and spun around to face Waverly. “I just told you the biggest secret about myself and you- you’re disgusted-”

Waverly saw where Nicole was heading with the conversation and knew she had to divert it somehow. All reasonable ideas were nowhere in sight, so she did the only thing that came to mind. She finished walking down the stairs and straight up to Nicole, planting both hands against her cheeks and forcing her head down. Their lips connected and time seemed to slow down in that moment. 

She pulled back enough to look Nicole in the eyes. “Don’t you dare finish that sentence, Nicole Haught, cause that is far from the truth!” Waverly whispered. “You are the same person I’ve been pining over for weeks now.” 

“Even if I’m different.” 

Waverly grabbed ahold of Nicole’s hand and gently pulled her towards the couch. Once she got comfortable, she said, “We haven’t talked about what happened at Shorty’s. It’s kinda like the elephant in the room that neither one of us know how to address… so I’m just going to say it. I’ve kinda assumed you were packing.” 

“What!” Nicole said, but she ignored her.

“I figured it was because you were transgender, or gender fluid, or even non-binary, and felt more comfortable wearing a packer. Intersex crossed my mind at one point, but whatever the case was, it wasn’t up to me to bring it up. I wasn’t about to force you to come out to me. That wouldn’t have been fair to you. But what you need to know right now, is that it doesn’t bother me. I like you for who you are. Nothing will ever change that.”

The air changed again. Waverly wasn’t sure if she had overstepped or not. The silence from her was overbearing. The longer Nicole remained silent, the more Waverly felt uncomfortable. Had she just destroyed her friendship with the person who was letting her live there until she renovated the homestead? She couldn’t handle the silence anymore and began standing up, only to be stopped by a hand grabbing her wrist. 

“Go on a date with me?”

Disney love songs were nothing compared to Waverly’s eye lighting up and smile blossoming across her face.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gaahhh! You're welcome! 
> 
> Thank you again for sticking around for this story! Now that NaNo is over, I will hopefully be posting more on this fic again.


	9. Nine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Courtney shouldn't be allowed to write. She put a cup of fluff, gay panicking and humor in this. She also sprinkled some mayhem and well...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The bottle slipped. Sorry not sorry
> 
> P.S: There's a sentence is Spanish in the top part and the translation is in the end notes. 
> 
> Finally: may the odds ever be in your favor.

If there was one thing Wynonna had never experienced, it was seeing Waverly be _nervous_ . Not just any kind of nervousness, but the kind you get before going on a date. Waverly had called her _early_ that morning, freaking out about going on a date. A date with Nicole Haught. She wasn’t 100% sure about the woman. Wynonna barely knew her, but knew Waverly was head over heels for the firefighter. 

“Babe, get your lazy ass out of bed and get dressed.” 

“Never thought I’d hear that sentence before.” Wynonna mumbled to herself as she slipped her leather pants on. 

“Waverly is going crazy over this date.”

Not only was her baby sister nervous, it seemed she was flipping her lid as well. Wynonna couldn’t understand why Waverly was so nervous. It wasn’t like she hadn’t been on a first date before. So what if her sister had been crushing on the firefighter since the day they met, big whoop? She had been upfront about her attraction to Rosita when they first met a few years ago. 

At first, Wynonna only wanted something physical with her. Then, over time, that want changed into something else. Wynonna wasn’t one for relationships or feelings, yet Rosita awoke something in her. Yes, she was scared shitless at first. She didn’t know how to handle her newfound emotions towards her Latina _friend_. It was new and scary, but Rosita gave her time to sort it all out. Rosita never once pressured her into speaking about her feelings or telling her how she should feel after a certain amount of time of seeing each other. No. Rosita was a dream when it came to their relationship, and Wynonna couldn’t have been more grateful for it. 

“Rosie, I’m awake. Please respect my privacy during my difficult time.” 

“If I walk in there and you're still lying in bed, I’m going to kick your ass. Waverly is texting me to make sure _you’re_ awake. Seriously, she’s freaking out, and it’s freaking me out. Now get up!” 

“Ugh, I’m up.” Wynonna walked into the living room, pulled her boots on, then went towards the kitchen. “I need coffee. Or whiskey. Or both.” 

Rosita turned from the counter, with a glass in hand. “Canadian style Irish coffee.” 

“You really understand me.” She took a sip. “And this is amazing. What?” Wynonna tilted her head, wondering why her girlfriend was snickering. “What is wrong with you?” 

Rosita stepped forward and kissed her, running her tongue over Wynonna’s top lip. “You had a creamstache. It was cute.”

Wynonna blushed and pretended to cough. “Soft.” 

“Yes, you are.” Rosita teased. 

She stuck her tongue out at her and continued drinking the coffee, humming in satisfaction. A plate with a chocolate sprinkled donut came into her view, and Wynonna grinned into her cup. In times like these, Wynonna appreciated the little things Rosita did for her.

“I love you.” 

A blush dusted Rosita’s cheeks. It still amazed her how her stomach fluttered and heart skipped a beat every time Wynonna said those words to her; even after dating for a few years. She kissed Wynonna again before grabbing a small white box off the counter and presented it to her. “I know. There’s three more in here.” 

Wynonna grabbed the bag, a wide grin permanently across her face. “You spoil me.” 

“You’ll be a diabetic before your thirty and Waverly will blame me for it... plus, it’s not spoiling when it’s the only food you eat. And speaking of your sister, you need to leave before she ca-” 

The counter started rattling from the cell phone's vibrations. The beginning tune of Shake it off by Taylor Swift played through the kitchen. Rosita sighed. “-Calls. If I answer this, argh. Sé ocultar un cuerpo!” 

“Now I know you just threatened me. With what, I’m not sure yet.” 

“Just answer! She still thinks you’re sleeping cause you won’t answer your damn phone.” 

Wynonna rolled her eyes. 

“Hi, Baby girl…. I’m sorry I didn’t answer your fifty other calls or texts... because I was getting dressed… mhm. Yup. Okay. Love you too.” Wynonna put her phone on the table and stared blankly at her girlfriend. 

“Please… for all that is holy in this godforsaken world, don’t leave me alone with her.”

**...**

Waverly emerged from her closet with a pile of clothes in her arms. “Help me pick something to wear. Nicole said to dress casual. How casual is casual?”

For someone so small, she sure had a lot of clothes. “You’re not... like.... Haught isn’t suffocating under all those clothes or waiting to jump out from there to scare me... which wouldn’t happen cause I don’t scare.” 

“Right, and I’m the boogie-man that goes bump in the night.” 

“I thought I saw something familiar about all that hair.” 

“Um, excuse me, unlike you, I haven’t been told that I have hair like a mare with a Hollywood stylist before.” 

“Touché.” Wynonna couldn’t help but smile. The teasing between her and Waverly was all in good nature. Someone had been brought to her attention that most siblings never acted the way they did. Sibling rivalry apparently lasted years, depending on the issues that rose. It made her grateful that she and her sisters grew up to love each other versus hating one another. (Even though their upbringing wasn’t the greatest by any means, it was still better than most.)

Another pile of clothes got stacked upon that last, making the mountain taller than Waverly. It didn’t take much, Waverly was short as it was. Wynonna cautiously stepped up to the bed, still wary of Nicole suffocating under Mount Everest. She felt the need to pick up all the clothes and drop them to the floor just to double check. Couldn’t be too careful. 

“Will you stop expecting her to jump out? She’s at work.”

“Saving kittens from trees and helping old ladies cross the street?” Wynonna snickered.

“Like she did yesterday with you cause you thought it was a great idea to carry all the groceries out at once on one arm instead of using the cart?”

Wynonna gasped, bringing a hand up to heart in mock hurt. “Did you just call me old?”

“As dirt.” Waverly giggled. 

“Keep that up and I’ll dump ice on you... might help bring down all that pent up frustration you have?” Wynonna smirked, watching Waverly’s face turned three shades of red. 

Making her sister squirm truly was her favorite pastime. Well, besides spending time with Rosita and _doing_ things with her. 

She shook her head to rid the images forming in her mind. Now was not the time to get lost in dirty fantasies of her girlfriend. Wynonna looked through the different styles of clothes laid out before her. There were so many bright belly shirts, floral shirts, different dresses and multiple pairs of pants. 

Waverly returned to the closet once more, leaving Wynonna to herself. The bedroom she was standing in wasn’t the one she expected. There were different firefighter pictures hanging on the wall, along with a few that had Shae in them. Wynonna was still a bit skeptical of the woman, but kept that worry to herself. If Waverly believed Shae wasn’t a threat, then she had to believe it too. It didn’t help when Chrissy decked her upside the head and told her about the encounter when Waverly moved in. 

“Hey Wave, if you’re sleeping in Haught-potato’s room, where does she sleep?”

A moment passed before Waverly answered. “On the couch. She hasn’t had a lot of time to drive to the Big City to pick up a bed yet.” 

Wynonna noticed Waverly’s lack of eye contact and knew her sister was lying about something. Her voice wavered at the beginning and stronger as she talked. Was she and Nicole already sharing a bed together? She wanted to ask, but something Waverly was holding caught her eye. A red paisley scarf fell to the bed. Wynonna instantly picked it up and smiled mischievously at Waverly. 

“What time is Haught-flame picking you up?” 

Waverly glanced down at her phone. “Right after she’s done drills. Why?” 

“How many ways can you wear a scarf?” Wynonna countered. Her smirk grew as she watched the gears turn in Waverly’s head until the lightbulb burned bright enough astronauts could see it from outer space. 

As Waverly searched for a pair of shorts that would look good with the scarf, Wynonna said, “Last question: does the carpet match the drapes?” 

Waverly dropped her scarf and choked on her saliva. 

  
  


**«««« ≠ »»»»**

  
  


Hot water rained down Nicole’s back as she rinsed out her hair. Morning drills and a lack of sleep weighed heavy on her muscles. Exhaustion seeped in the longer she stood under the water. Her muscles relaxed more and more, and her eyelids slipped close. A few minutes of sleep wouldn’t hurt. 

Nicole turned off the water and grabbed her towel, wrapping it around her body. She peeked through the curtain to make sure none of the other crew members were nearby. None of them knew about her, and she wanted it to stay that way. 

The hallway to her locker was clear. Nicole made quick work to grab her clothes and get dressed. Her heart hammered in her chest as she buttoned up her uniform. She was nervous. More nervous than she ever had been in her entire life. 

Nicole was going on a date with Waverly Earp. 

The same Waverly who curled up next to her for most of the night. No amount of pillows between them kept her away. Hell, Fort Knox couldn’t keep the petite woman out even if they tried. 

A soothing fragrance should have put her to sleep, instead it had the opposite effect on Nicole. The powerful aroma filled her senses every time she inhaled. Nicole tried not to bury her nose into the soft hair tickling her chin, but it was no use. Waverly wasn’t moving anytime soon, and the sweet smell of lavender called her in like a siren. 

As Nicole dried her hair, a familiar feeling stirred in her lower regions. Thinking about the proximity she was with Waverly awoken _something_ she hadn’t felt in a long time. Butterflies fluttering around her stomach was never a thing she believed in until she met Waverly. Her heart pounded against her chest as her stomach twisted with emotions she never experienced before. 

Waverly was different. A wonderful, never-before-seen different. In the short time of her staying with Nicole, she learned Waverly _saw_ her for her. Never in her wildest dreams did she think she’d ever met someone who accepted her as is. It was rare and beautiful, and Nicole wanted more. She was an addict needing to indulge in the craving she sought. Nicole still couldn’t wrap her mind around the fact she was finally going on a date with the woman she was pining over. 

Would the date go on forever in a way that neither of them would notice? Would it end up in uncomfortable awkwardness? Nicole shook her head. The latter didn’t feel right. She and Waverly already talked like they’d known each other for years. 

Waverly _kissed her_ . She was interested _in her_ and said so as much in her own words. 

She took a couple of deep breaths, calming her racing heart and all her blood rushing to the one place it shouldn’t while at work. Nicole looked down and saw a slight bulge in her faded black jeans. A small smile tugged at her lips. Waverly _knew_ about her and wasn’t put off by the idea of being with someone who had boobs and a dick. 

Lucky didn’t even describe how she felt. She continued to take deep breaths until her semi erection was gone. 

Nicole reached into her locker and checked her phone. She was minutes away from being released by her captain. Allenbach told her to leave as soon as drills were over and to check in with him before she took off. 

As she admired herself in the mirror, Nicole subconsciously flattened out the non-existing crinkles. Her tie hung undone around her neck. _Was a tie too formal for this date_ , Nicole wondered. She had told Waverly to dress casually. In one smooth motion, she pulled the tie off and threw it back in her locker for the time being. Next, the top three buttons of her blue dress shirt came undone. Nicole tousled her flaming locks twice and gave up. There was no use in trying when the wind would surely destroy whatever updo she was going for. She slipped her phone in her back pocket and closed her locker door. 

Just as Nicole reached the door of the locker room, the fire alarm started going off. 

  
  


**«««« ≠ »»»»**

  
  


A raging storm flooded her thoughts; Circling and circling until the eye of the hurricane touched the ground. Waverly checked her phone for what felt like the millionth time. She placed a hand on her leg; when did it start bouncing? 

Nicole was as punctual as an atomic clock. “Being on time means you're late,” she’d heard Nicole say a few times when getting ready for work. It had been hours since Nicole was supposed to pick her up for their date. Did Nicole change her mind? Was she no longer interested and couldn’t figure out a way to tell her? What was keeping Nicole from returning home? 

The pit of her stomach felt queasy. She had already been a nervous wreck about the date, and now she had been stood up by the person she lived with. How was that even possible? Nicole would have to return home at some point? Right? 

Dark clouds filled her eyes. Nothing was making sense. Nicole wouldn’t do that to her. She was the one who _asked her out_. What explanation could she have to undo the damage she caused? 

Waverly abruptly stood up, flinging her purse to the floor. She had the perfect opportunity to destroy everything Nicole owned, yet it didn’t feel right. Nothing did. The rage that was building somehow didn’t feel directed at Nicole, but at the situation. The nervousness she had felt _off_. It was the strangest thing. She thought for a moment. Really thought about it everything. 

Nicole had shown interest in her from the beginning. Hanging onto each sentence that flowed like a melody in a windstorm. Somehow Nicole caught every word and understood what they meant. 

Nicole allowed her to stay when she had nowhere else to go. She even gave up her own bed for Waverly’s own comfort. 

Nicole was terrified of Waverly learning she was intersex because she thought _she_ wouldn’t accept her. 

Nicole had kissed her back! 

A ton of bricks weighed down on her; suffocating every nerve. Just as she went to grab her phone, a message appeared across the screen. 

**Unknown:** _Hey it’s Shae. I got your number from Nicole before I went back to Calgary. Anyway, have you seen the news? Nicole won’t answer her cell and I’m praying it’s because she’s with you?_

Waverly’s heart raced; beating and beating to be first to cross the finish line in the solo race. She tripped over her purse to get the remote sitting on the coffee table. Her eyes fogged up, causing her to miss the red button. Third time the charm and the tv turned on. In that moment, Waverly was grateful that Nicole had a habit of watching the news before bedtime. 

Her racing heart stopped as she listened to the news reporter: 

_“Breaking news: A ten story building in the Big City up in flames. Surrounding fire departments in the Ghost River Triangle are assisting in what could be the worst fire seen in well over a decade. Newscaster...”_

Here she was, dolled up for a date with a firefighter. She knew the risks of getting involved with first responders. It was why she tried to avoid dating them. Nicole was different, and there was this magnetic pull that Waverly couldn’t explain. Getting to know her, being around her, felt right. The stars and moon shined brighter whenever Waverly thought about Nicole. 

The entire universe aligned when they were together. 

Life seemed dull at the thought of not having Nicole by her side. 

Her future felt unfulfilled if she didn’t have Nicole in her life. 

Waverly barely knew Nicole, and yet her entire world came crashing down at the mere thought of Nicole getting hurt or worse. 

She slowly sank to the floor; meeting the tears stains already there. When did she start crying? Waverly continued to watch the live report play out across the screen. The news reporter talked to the Fire Chief Robert Svane, asking questions that seemed to make him uncomfortable. 

How bad is the fire? Do you know the cause? What floor did it start on? Is everyone out? Do you know if anyone got hurt? 

As the newscaster continued to ask question after question, the cameraman panned above her, getting the view of the fire. Smoke puffed out of the cracked windows, giving the fire oxygen to breathe and potentially become worse. 

Sounds came cackling out of the helmet. Words barely heard, yet Waverly hung onto them like a lifeline. It took a moment to realize that she knew that voice. A voice that could destroy her in the best, _pleasurable_ of ways in a matter of seconds. Now, it was haunting her. 

Hazardous. Explosive. Get everyone out. Now. 

Waverly’s phone vibrated in her hand just as a loud boom echoed out of the speakers. Shards of glass exploded high above the ground. People’s screams wrecked her brain. Her own voice caught in her throat. 

More tears stained Waverly’s face as she looked down at her phone. 

Nonna🥃🍩: _How’d your date go? Did she cream her pants?_

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I should apologize for this, but y'all know what you got yourself into when you decided to read this. Since when I am ever nice to these wonderful and beautiful characters? Lmao
> 
> Translation: 
> 
> Sé ocultar un cuerpo: I know how to hide a body


	10. Not an update!

First and foremost, I want to apologize for the lack in updates! If you read my medieval au, then you are already aware of my reasonings. If you don’t, then know this and along with ‘And Then You Happen’ are NOT abandoned. With holidays, birthdays, and a pending divorce, my mind has been every which way.   
  


If you do read the medieval au, and you aren’t subscribed to it, then know I did update a new chapter on Saturday!   
  


Anyway: the reason for this _chapter_ is because I have a question and I want to know your opinions.   
  


Would you be interested in reading Nicole’s POV before the explosion that took place at the end of the last chapter?

I have been debating on writing that scene, (hence the long while since last updating). 

Please let me know in the comments and if you have other ideas that you want to see in this fic, don’t hesitate to comment below! I love seeing what ideas you all come up with! 

**Author's Note:**

> So, I'm not really sure where I'm going with this. I do have an idea for chapter 2, but if you guys have any suggestions/ ideas let me know. I'd greatly appreciate it. 
> 
> I hope you guys enjoyed this. Let me know if you want me to continue it or not. 
> 
> You can also follow me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/LoneWolf_Writer) and [Tumblr](https://cwinter1994.tumblr.com/)
> 
> I also have a [CuriousCat](https://curiouscat.qa/LoneWolf_Writer) if you want to ask me questions! 


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